28,108 research outputs found
Comment on "Spectroscopic Evidence for Multiple Order Parameter Components in the Heavy Fermion Superconductor CeCoIn"
Recently, Rourke et al. reported point-contact spectroscopy results on the
heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn [1]. They obtained conductance spectra
on the c-axis surfaces of CeCoIn single crystals. Their major claims are
two-fold: CeCoIn has i) d-wave pairing symmetry and ii) two coexisting
order parameter components. In this Comment, we show that these claims are not
warranted by the data presented. [1] Rourke et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 107005
(2005).Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett., final for
An inequality involving the second largest and smallest eigenvalue of a distance-regular graph
For a distance-regular graph with second largest eigenvalue (resp. smallest
eigenvalue) \mu1 (resp. \muD) we show that (\mu1+1)(\muD+1)<= -b1 holds, where
equality only holds when the diameter equals two. Using this inequality we
study distance-regular graphs with fixed second largest eigenvalue.Comment: 15 pages, this is submitted to Linear Algebra and Applications
Enhancing the conductance of a two-electron nanomechanical oscillator
We consider electron transport through a mobile island (i.e., a
nanomechanical oscillator) which can accommodate one or two excess electrons
and show that, in contrast to immobile islands, the Coulomb blockade peaks,
associated with the first and second electrons entering the island, have
different functional dependences on the nano-oscillator parameters when the
island coupling to its leads is asymmetric. In particular, the conductance for
the second electron (i.e., when the island is already charged) is greatly
enhanced in comparison to the conductance of the first electron in the presence
of an external electric field. We also analyze the temperature dependence of
the two conduction peaks and show that these exhibit different functional
behaviors.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
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Periodontitis-induced systemic inflammation exacerbates atherosclerosis partly via endothelial-mesenchymal transition in mice.
Growing evidence suggests close associations between periodontitis and atherosclerosis. To further understand the pathological relationships of these associations, we developed periodontitis with ligature placement around maxillary molars or ligature placement in conjunction with Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide injection at the ligature sites (ligature/P.g. LPS) in Apolipoprotein E knock out mice and studied the atherogenesis process in these animals. The mice were fed with high fat diet for 11 weeks and sacrificed for analyzing periodontitis, systemic inflammation, and atherosclerosis. Controls did not develop periodontitis or systemic inflammation and had minimal lipid deposition in the aortas, but mice receiving ligature or ligature/P.g. LPS showed severe periodontitis, systemic inflammation, and aortic plaque formation. The aortic plaque contained abundant macrophages and cells expressing both endothelial and mesenchymal cell markers. The severity of periodontitis was slightly higher in mice receiving ligature/P.g. LPS than ligature alone, and the magnitude of systemic inflammation and aortic plaque formation were also notably greater in the mice with ligature/P.g. LPS. These observations indicate that the development of atherosclerosis is due to systemic inflammation caused by severe periodontitis. In vitro, P.g. LPS enhanced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines from macrophages and increased the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells by upregulating the expression of adhesion molecules from endothelial cells. Moreover, secretory proteins, such as TNF-α, from macrophages induced endothelial-mesenchymal transitions of the endothelial cells. Taken together, systemic inflammation induced by severe periodontitis might exacerbate atherosclerosis via, in part, causing aberrant functions of vascular endothelial cells and the activation of macrophages in mice
Cdk5 Phosphorylates Dopamine D2 Receptor and Attenuates Downstream Signaling
The dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) is a key receptor that mediates dopamine-associated brain functions such as mood, reward, and emotion. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase whose function has been implicated in the brain reward circuit. In this study, we revealed that the serine 321 residue (S321) in the third intracellular loop of DRD2 (D2i3) is a novel regulatory site of Cdk5. Cdk5-dependent phosphorylation of S321 in the D2i3 was observed in in vitro and cell culture systems. We further observed that the phosphorylation of S321 impaired the agonist-stimulated surface expression of DRD2 and decreased G protein coupling to DRD2. Moreover, the downstream cAMP pathway was affected in the heterologous system and in primary neuronal cultures from p35 knockout embryos likely due to the reduced inhibitory activity of DRD2. These results indicate that Cdk5-mediated phosphorylation of S321 inhibits DRD2 function, providing a novel regulatory mechanism for dopamine signaling.X111111sciescopu
Search for Boosted Dark Matter at ProtoDUNE
We propose the first experimental test of the inelastic boosted dark matter
hypothesis, capitalizing on the new physics potential with the imminent data
taking of the ProtoDUNE detectors. More specifically, we explore various
experimental signatures at the cosmic frontier, arising in boosted dark matter
scenarios, i.e., relativistic, inelastic scattering of boosted dark matter
often created by the annihilation of its heavier component which usually
comprises of the dominant relic abundance. Although features are unique enough
to isolate signal events from potential backgrounds, vetoing a vast amount of
cosmic background is rather challenging as the detectors are located on the
ground. We argue, with a careful estimate, that such backgrounds nevertheless
can be well under control by performing dedicated analyses after data
acquisition. We then discuss some phenomenological studies which can be
achieved with ProtoDUNE, employing a dark photon scenario as our benchmark
dark-sector model.Comment: Supplemental material include
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