538 research outputs found
Low-energy J/psi-Hadron Interactions from Quenched Lattice QCD
The J/psi-hadron interaction is a key ingredient in analyzing the J/psi
suppression in hot hadronic matter as well as the propagation of J/psi in
nuclei. As a first step to clarify the J/psi-hadron interactions at low
energies, we have calculated J/psi-pi, J/psi-rho and J/psi-nucleon scattering
lengths by the quenched lattice QCD simulations with Wilson fermions for
beta=6.2 on 24^3*48 and 32^3*48 lattices. Using the Luscher's method to extract
the scattering length from the simulations in a finite box, we find an
attractive interaction in the S-wave channel for all three systems: Among
others, the J/psi-nucleon interaction is most attractive. Possibility of the
J/psi-nucleon bound state is also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, talk presented at Lattice 2005 (Heavy quark
physics), Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, 25-30 July 200
Universal threshold enhancement
By assuming certain analytic properties of the propagator, it is shown that
universal features of the spectral function including threshold enhancement
arise if a pole describing a particle at high temperature approaches in the
complex energy plane the threshold position of its two-body decay with the
variation of T. The case is considered, when one can disregard any other decay
processes. The quality of the proposed description is demonstrated by comparing
it with the detailed large N solution of the linear sigma model around the
pole-threshold coincidence.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Significance of myocardial tenascin-C expression in left ventricular remodelling and long-term outcome in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy
Aim Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has a variety of causes, and no useful approach to predict left ventricular (LV) remodelling and long-term outcome has yet been established. Myocardial tenascin-C (TNC) is known to appear under pathological conditions, possibly to regulate cardiac remodelling. The aim of this study was to clarify the significance of myocardial TNC expression in LV remodelling and the long-term outcome in DCM. Methods and results One hundred and twenty-three consecutive DCM patients who underwent endomyocardial biopsy for initial diagnosis were studied. Expression of TNC in biopsy sections was analysed immunohistochemically to quantify the ratio of the TNC-positive area to the whole myocardial tissue area (TNC area). Clinical parameters associated with TNC area were investigated. The patients were divided into two groups based on receiver operating characteristic analysis of TNC area to predict death: high TNC group with TNC area ≥2.3% (22 patients) and low TNC group with TNC area <2.3% (101 patients). High TNC was associated with diabetes mellitus. Comparing echocardiographic findings between before and 9 months after endomyocardial biopsy, the low TNC group was associated with decreased LV end-diastolic diameter and increased LV ejection fraction, whereas the high TNC group was not. Survival analysis revealed a worse outcome in the high TNC group than in the low TNC group (P < 0.001). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that TNC area was independently associated with poor outcome (HR = 1.347, P = 0.032). Conclusions Increased myocardial TNC expression was associated with worse LV remodeling and long-term outcome in DCM
Quasi-Solitons in Dissipative Systems and Exactly Solvable Lattice Models
A system of first-order differential-difference equations with time lag
describes the formation of density waves, called as quasi-solitons for
dissipative systems in this paper. For co-moving density waves, the system
reduces to some exactly solvable lattice models. We construct a shock-wave
solution as well as one-quasi-soliton solution, and argue that there are
pseudo-conserved quantities which characterize the formation of the co-moving
waves. The simplest non-trivial one is given to discuss the presence of a
cascade phenomena in relaxation process toward the pattern formation.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, 1 figur
Heparin inhibits endothelin-1 production in cultured rat mesangial cells
Heparin inhibits endothelin-1 production in cultured rat mesangial cells. The present study was designed to examine whether heparin inhibits basal or stimulated endothelin-1 production by arginine vasopressin (AVP) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in cultured rat mesangial cells. In addition, the reversibility of the heparin effect on mesangial cell endothelin-1 production was examined. AVP and PDGF stimulated endothelin-1 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner in these cells. Heparin (10 to 100 U/ml) exhibited concentration-related inhibition of AVP- and PDGF-stimulated endothelin-1 secretion. Heparin also had weak but significant inhibitory effects on basal endothelin-1 secretion in these cells. The protein kinase (PKC)-activating phorbor ester, phorbor myristate acetate (PMA), stimulated endothelin-1 secretion and heparin inhibited PMA-stimulated endothelin-1 secretion. In addition, the inhibitory effect of heparin was completely abolished in PKC-depleted mesangial cells. Mesangial cells which were exposed to a high concentration (100 U/ml) of heparin for 24 hours were capable of producing endothelin-1 after a short lag period of removal of heparin from the culture medium. These mesangial cells also showed recovery of responses to AVP and PDGF by secreting a significantly greater amount of endothelin-1 than the non-stimulated level. These results indicate that heparin potently inhibits mesangial cell endothelin-1 production, especially when stimulated by AVP or PDGF. This inhibitory effect of heparin is probably PKC dependent, and reversible
Prediction of causative genes in inherited retinal disorder from fundus photography and autofluorescence imaging using deep learning techniques
Background/Aims: To investigate the utility of a data-driven deep learning approach in patients with inherited retinal disorder (IRD) and to predict the causative genes based on fundus photography and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging. /
Methods: Clinical and genetic data from 1302 subjects from 729 genetically confirmed families with IRD registered with the Japan Eye Genetics Consortium were reviewed. Three categories of genetic diagnosis were selected, based on the high prevalence of their causative genes: Stargardt disease (ABCA4), retinitis pigmentosa (EYS) and occult macular dystrophy (RP1L1). Fundus photographs and FAF images were cropped in a standardised manner with a macro algorithm. Images for training/testing were selected using a randomised, fourfold cross-validation method. The application program interface was established to reach the learning accuracy of concordance (target: >80%) between the genetic diagnosis and the machine diagnosis (ABCA4, EYS, RP1L1 and normal). /
Results: A total of 417 images from 156 Japanese subjects were examined, including 115 genetically confirmed patients caused by the three prevalent causative genes and 41 normal subjects. The mean overall test accuracy for fundus photographs and FAF images was 88.2% and 81.3%, respectively. The mean overall sensitivity/specificity values for fundus photographs and FAF images were 88.3%/97.4% and 81.8%/95.5%, respectively. /
Conclusion: A novel application of deep neural networks in the prediction of the causative IRD genes from fundus photographs and FAF, with a high prediction accuracy of over 80%, was highlighted. These achievements will extensively promote the quality of medical care by facilitating early diagnosis, especially by non-specialists, access to care, reducing the cost of referrals, and preventing unnecessary clinical and genetic testing
Improving signal-to-noise resolution in single molecule experiments using molecular constructs with short handles
We investigate unfolding/folding force kinetics in DNA hairpins exhibiting
two and three states with newly designed short dsDNA handles (29 bp) using
optical tweezers. We show how the higher stiffness of the molecular setup
moderately enhances the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in hopping experiments as
compared to conventional long handles constructs (approximately 700 bp). The
shorter construct results in a signal of higher SNR and slower
folding/unfolding kinetics, thereby facilitating the detection of otherwise
fast structural transitions. A novel analysis of the elastic properties of the
molecular setup, based on high-bandwidth measurements of force fluctuations
along the folded branch, reveals that the highest SNR that can be achieved with
short handles is potentially limited by the marked reduction of the effective
persistence length and stretch modulus of the short linker complex.Comment: Main paper: 20 pages and 6 figures. Supplementary Material: 25 page
J/Psi mass shift in nuclear matter
The mass shift in cold nuclear matter is computed using an effective
Lagrangian approach. The mass shift is computed by evaluating and
meson loop contributions to the self-energy employing medium-modified
meson masses. The modification of the and masses in nuclear matter is
obtained using the quark-meson coupling model. The loop integrals are
regularized with dipole form factors and the sensitivity of the results to the
values of form-factor cutoff masses is investigated. The mass shift
arising from the modification of the and loops at normal nuclear
matter density is found to range from -16 MeV to -24 MeV under a wide variation
of values of the cutoff masses. Experimental perspectives for the formation of
a bound state of to a nucleus are investigated.Comment: 9 pages, latex file, 6 figures. Version published in Phys. Lett.
Prediction of Causative Genes in Inherited Retinal Disorders from Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Utilizing Deep Learning Techniques
Purpose. To illustrate a data-driven deep learning approach to predicting the gene responsible for the inherited retinal disorder (IRD) in macular dystrophy caused by ABCA4 and RP1L1 gene aberration in comparison with retinitis pigmentosa caused by EYS gene aberration and normal subjects. Methods. Seventy-five subjects with IRD or no ocular diseases have been ascertained from the database of Japan Eye Genetics Consortium; 10 ABCA4 retinopathy, 20 RP1L1 retinopathy, 28 EYS retinopathy, and 17 normal patients/subjects. Horizontal/vertical cross-sectional scans of optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) at the central fovea were cropped/adjusted to a resolution of 400 pixels/inch with a size of 750 × 500 pix2 for learning. Subjects were randomly split following a 3 : 1 ratio into training and test sets. The commercially available learning tool, Medic mind was applied to this four-class classification program. The classification accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated during the learning process. This process was repeated four times with random assignment to training and test sets to control for selection bias. For each training/testing process, the classification accuracy was calculated per gene category. Results. A total of 178 images from 75 subjects were included in this study. The mean training accuracy was 98.5%, ranging from 90.6 to 100.0. The mean overall test accuracy was 90.9% (82.0–97.6). The mean test accuracy per gene category was 100% for ABCA4, 78.0% for RP1L1, 89.8% for EYS, and 93.4% for Normal. Test accuracy of RP1L1 and EYS was not high relative to the training accuracy which suggests overfitting. Conclusion. This study highlighted a novel application of deep neural networks in the prediction of the causative gene in IRD retinopathies from SD-OCT, with a high prediction accuracy. It is anticipated that deep neural networks will be integrated into general screening to support clinical/genetic diagnosis, as well as enrich the clinical education
- …