1,336 research outputs found
Neuregulin 1-Beta cytoprotective role in AML 12 mouse hepatocytes exposed to pentachlorophenol.
Neuregulins are a family of growth factor domain proteins that are structurally related to the epidermal growth factor. Accumulating evidence has shown that neuregulins have cyto- and neuroprotective properties in various cell types. In particular, the neuregulin-1 Beta (NRG1-Beta) isoform is well documented for its antiinflammatory properties in rat brain after acute stroke episodes. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an organochlorine compound that has been widely used as a biocide in several industrial, agricultural, and domestic applications. Previous investigations from our laboratory have demonstrated that PCP exerts both cytotoxic and mitogenic effects in human liver carcinoma (HepG2) cells, primary catfish hepatocytes and AML 12 mouse hepatocytes. We have also shown that in HepG2 cells, PCP has the ability to induce stress genes that may play a role in the molecular events leading to toxicity and tumorigenesis. In the present study, we hypothesize that NRG1-Beta will exert its cytoprotective effects in PCP-treated AML 12 mouse hepatocytes by its ability to suppress the toxic effects of PCP. To test this hypothesis, we performed the MTT-cell respiration assay to assess cell viability, and Western-blot analysis to assess stress-related proteins as a consequence of PCP exposure. Data obtained from 48 h-viability studies demonstrated a biphasic response; showing a dose-dependent increase in cell viability within the range of 0 to 3.87 microg/mL, and a gradual decrease within the concentration range of 7.75 to 31.0 microg/mL in concomitant treatments of NRG1-Beta+PCP and PCP. Cell viability percentages indicated that NRG1-Beta+PCPtreated cells were not significantly impaired, while PCP-treated cells were appreciably affected; suggesting that NRG1-Beta has the ability to suppress the toxic effects of PCP. Western Blot analysis demonstrated the potential of PCP to induce oxidative stress and inflammatory response (c-fos), growth arrest and DNA damage (GADD153), proteotoxic effects (HSP70), cell cycle arrest as consequence of DNA damage (p53), mitogenic response (cyclin- D1), and apoptosis (caspase-3). NRG1-Beta exposure attenuated stress-related protein expression in PCP-treated AML 12 mouse hepatocytes. Here we provide clear evidence that NRG1-Beta exerts cytoprotective effects in AML 12 mouse hepatocytes exposed to PCP
Anisotropic states of two-dimensional electrons in high magnetic fields
We study the collective states formed by two-dimensional electrons in Landau
levels of index near half-filling. By numerically solving the
self-consistent Hartree-Fock (HF) equations for a set of oblique
two-dimensional lattices, we find that the stripe state is an anisotropic
Wigner crystal (AWC), and determine its precise structure for varying values of
the filling factor. Calculating the elastic energy, we find that the shear
modulus of the AWC is small but finite (nonzero) within the HF approximation.
This implies, in particular, that the long-wavelength magnetophonon mode in the
stripe state vanishes like as in an ordinary Wigner crystal, and not
like as was found in previous studies where the energy of shear
deformations was neglected.Comment: minor corrections; 5 pages, 4 figures; version to be published in
Physical Review Letter
Hall-Effect Sign Anomaly and Small-Polaronic Conduction in (La_{1-x}Gd_x)_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}MnO_3
The Hall coefficient of Gd-doped La_{2/3}Ca_{1/3}MnO_3 exhibits Arrhenius
behavior over a temperature range from 2T_c to 4T_c, with an activation energy
very close to 2/3 that of the electrical conductivity. Although both the doping
level and thermoelectric coefficient indicate hole-like conduction, the Hall
coefficient is electron-like. This unusual result provides strong evidence in
favor of small-polaronic conduction in the paramagnetic regime of the
manganites.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, uses revtex.st
Bound states of edge dislocations: The quantum dipole problem in two dimensions
We investigate bound state solutions of the 2D Schr\"odinger equation with a
dipole potential originating from the elastic effects of a single edge
dislocation. The knowledge of these states could be useful for understanding a
wide variety of physical systems, including superfluid behavior along
dislocations in solid He. We present a review of the results obtained by
previous workers together with an improved variational estimate of the ground
state energy. We then numerically solve the eigenvalue problem and calculate
the energy spectrum. In our dimensionless units, we find a ground state energy
of -0.139, which is lower than any previous estimate. We also make successful
contact with the behavior of the energy spectrum as derived from semiclassical
considerations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
Nucleation and Growth of the Superconducting Phase in the Presence of a Current
We study the localized stationary solutions of the one-dimensional
time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations in the presence of a current. These
threshold perturbations separate undercritical perturbations which return to
the normal phase from overcritical perturbations which lead to the
superconducting phase. Careful numerical work in the small-current limit shows
that the amplitude of these solutions is exponentially small in the current; we
provide an approximate analysis which captures this behavior. As the current is
increased toward the stall current J*, the width of these solutions diverges
resulting in widely separated normal-superconducting interfaces. We map out
numerically the dependence of J* on u (a parameter characterizing the material)
and use asymptotic analysis to derive the behaviors for large u (J* ~ u^-1/4)
and small u (J -> J_c, the critical deparing current), which agree with the
numerical work in these regimes. For currents other than J* the interface
moves, and in this case we study the interface velocity as a function of u and
J. We find that the velocities are bounded both as J -> 0 and as J -> J_c,
contrary to previous claims.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, Revte
Measurement of the Far Infrared Magneto-Conductivity Tensor of Superconducting YBaCuO Thin Films
We report measurements of the far infrared transmission of superconducting
YBaCuO thin films from 5 cm to 200 cm in
fields up to 14. A Kramers-Kronig analysis of the magneto-transmission
spectrum yields the magneto-conductivity tensor. The result shows that the
magneto-conductivity of YBaCuO is dominated by three
terms: a London term, a low frequency Lorentzian ( 3 cm) of width 10 cm and a finite frequency Lorentzian of
width 17 cm at 24 cm in the hole
cyclotron resonance active mode of circular polarization.\\Comment: Revised LaTex file (12 pages) + 4 Postscript figures, uuencoded. In
response to referees' comments, we refined the paper a lot; we encourage you
to download this revised versio
Double sign reversal of the vortex Hall effect in YBa2Cu3O7-delta thin films in the strong pinning limit of low magnetic fields
Measurements of the Hall effect and the resistivity in twinned
YBa2Cu3O7-delta thin films in magnetic fields B oriented parallel to the
crystallographic c-axis and to the twin boundaries reveal a double sign
reversal of the Hall coefficient for B below 1 T. In high transport current
densities, or with B tilted off the twin boundaries by 5 degrees, the second
sign reversal vanishes. The power-law scaling of the Hall conductivity to the
longitudinal conductivity in the mixed state is strongly modified in the regime
of the second sign reversal. Our observations are interpreted as strong,
disorder-type dependent vortex pinning and confirm that the Hall conductivity
in high temperature superconductors is not independent of pinning.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Quantum critical phenomena of long-range interacting bosons in a time-dependent random potential
We study the superfluid-insulator transition of a particle-hole symmetric
system of long-range interacting bosons in a time-dependent random potential in
two dimensions, using the momentum-shell renormalization-group method. We find
a new stable fixed point with non-zero values of the parameters representing
the short- and long-range interactions and disorder when the interaction is
asymptotically logarithmic. This is contrasted to the non-random case with a
logarithmic interaction, where the transition is argued to be first-order, and
to the Coulomb interaction case, where either a first-order transition or
an XY-like transition is possible depending on the parameters. We propose that
our model may be relevant in studying the vortex liquid-vortex glass transition
of interacting vortex lines in point-disordered type-II superconductors.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
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