10,899 research outputs found
p38 MAPK, microglial signaling, and neuropathic pain
Accumulating evidence over last several years indicates an important role of microglial cells in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. Signal transduction in microglia under chronic pain states has begun to be revealed. We will review the evidence that p38 MAPK is activated in spinal microglia after nerve injury and contributes importantly to neuropathic pain development and maintenance. We will discuss the upstream mechanisms causing p38 activation in spinal microglia after nerve injury. We will also discuss the downstream mechanisms by which p38 produces inflammatory mediators. Taken together, current data suggest that p38 plays a critical role in microglial signaling under neuropathic pain conditions and represents a valuable therapeutic target for neuropathic pain management
A Simple Grand Unified Relation between Neutrino Mixing and Quark Mixing
It is proposed that all flavor mixing is caused by the mixing of the three
quark and lepton families with vectorlike fermions in 5 + 5-bar multiplets of
SU(5). This simple assumption implies that both V_{CKM} and U_{MNS} are
generated by a single matrix. The entire 3-by-3 complex mass matrix of the
neutrinos M_{nu} is then found to have a simple expression in terms of two
complex parameters and an overall scale. Thus, all the presently unknown
neutrino parameters are predicted. The best fits are for theta_{atm} less than
or approximately 40 degrees. The leptonic Dirac CP phase is found to be
somewhat greater than pi radians.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, one table. Typos correcte
Self-Assembly of 4-sided Fractals in the Two-handed Tile Assembly Model
We consider the self-assembly of fractals in one of the most well-studied
models of tile based self-assembling systems known as the Two-handed Tile
Assembly Model (2HAM). In particular, we focus our attention on a class of
fractals called discrete self-similar fractals (a class of fractals that
includes the discrete Sierpi\'nski carpet). We present a 2HAM system that
finitely self-assembles the discrete Sierpi\'nski carpet with scale factor 1.
Moreover, the 2HAM system that we give lends itself to being generalized and we
describe how this system can be modified to obtain a 2HAM system that finitely
self-assembles one of any fractal from an infinite set of fractals which we
call 4-sided fractals. The 2HAM systems we give in this paper are the first
examples of systems that finitely self-assemble discrete self-similar fractals
at scale factor 1 in a purely growth model of self-assembly. Finally, we show
that there exists a 3-sided fractal (which is not a tree fractal) that cannot
be finitely self-assembled by any 2HAM system
Effects of the integrative mind-body intervention on depression, sleep disturbances and plasma IL-6
Letter to the Editorpublished_or_final_versio
External sources of clean technology: evidence from the clean development mechanism
New technology is fundamental to sustainable development. However, inventors from industrialized countries often refuse technology transfer because they worry about reverse-engineering. When can clean technology transfer succeed? We develop a formal model of the political economy of North–South technology transfer. According to the model, technology transfer is possible if (1) the technology in focus has limited global commercial potential or (2) the host developing country does not have the capacity to absorb new technologies for commercial use. If both conditions fail, inventors from industrialized countries worry about the adverse competitiveness effects of reverse-engineering, so technology transfer fails. Data analysis of technology transfer in 4,894 projects implemented under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism during the 2004–2010 period provides evidence in support of the model
11-Deoxycorticosterone Producing Adrenal Hyperplasia as a Very Unusual Cause of Endocrine Hypertension: Case Report and Systematic Review of the Literature
Background and Objectives: 11-deoxycorticosterone overproduction due to an adrenal tumor or hyperplasia is a very rare cause of mineralocorticoid-induced hypertension. The objective is to provide the most relevant clinical features that clinicians dealing with patients presenting with the hallmarks of hypertension due to 11-deoxycorticosterone-producing adrenal lesions should be aware of. Design and Methods: We report the case of a patient with an 11-deoxycorticosterone-producing adrenal lesion and provide a systematic review of all published cases (PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE) between 1965 and 2021. Results: We identified 46 cases (including ours). Most cases (31, 67%) affected women with a mean age of 42.9 +/- 15.2 years and presented with high blood pressure and hypokalemia (average of 2.68 +/- 0.62 mmol/L). Median (interquartile range) time from onset of first suggestive symptoms to diagnosis was 24 (55) months. Aldosterone levels were low or in the reference range in 98% of the cases when available. 11-deoxycorticosterone levels were a median of 12.5 (18.9) times above the upper limit of the normal reference range reported in each article and overproduction of more than one hormone was seen in 31 (67%). Carcinoma was the most common histological type (21, 45.7%). Median tumor size was 61.5 (60) mm. Malignant lesions were larger, had higher 11-deoxycorticosterone levels and shorter time of evolution at diagnosis compared to benign lesions. Conclusion: 11-deoxycorticosterone-producing adrenal lesions are very rare, affecting mostly middle-aged women with a primary aldosteronism-like clinical presentation and carcinoma is the most frequent histological diagnosis. Measuring 11-deoxycorticosterone levels, when low aldosterone levels or in the lower limit of the reference range are present in hypertensive patients, is advisable. Systematic Review Registration:Open Science Framework, 10.17605/OSF.IO/NR7UV
On the unification of dwarf and giant elliptical galaxies
The near orthogonal distributions of dwarf elliptical (dE) and giant
elliptical (E) galaxies in the mu_e-Mag and mu_e-log(R_e) diagrams have been
interpreted as evidence for two distinct galaxy formation processes. However,
continuous, linear relationships across the alleged dE/E boundary at M_B = -18
mag - such as those between central surface brightness (mu_0) and (i) galaxy
magnitude and (ii) light-profile shape (n) - suggest a similar, governing
formation mechanism. Here we explain how these latter two linear trends
necessitate a different behavior for dE and E galaxies, exactly as observed, in
diagrams involving mu_e (and also _e). A natural consequence is that the
distribution of dEs and Es in Fundamental Plane type analyses that use the
associated intensity I_e, or _e, are expected to appear different. Together
with other linear trends across the alleged dE/E boundary, such as those
between luminosity and color, metallicity, and velocity dispersion, it appears
that the dEs form a continuous extension to the E galaxies. The presence of
partially depleted cores in luminous (M_B < -20.5 mag) Es does however signify
the action of a different physical process at the centers (< ~300 pc) of these
galaxies.Comment: 5 pages from the proceedings of the 2004 conference "Penetrating bars
through masks of cosmic dust: the Hubble tuning fork strikes a new note".
Edited by D. L. Block, I. Puerari, K. C. Freeman, R. Groess, and E. K. Bloc
Factors Governing the Chemical Stability of Shear-Exfoliated ZnSe(alkylamine) II–VI Layered Hybrids
Advances in the production of two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene and MoS2 during the past two decades have spurred the search for other van der Waals materials with distinct functional properties. However, reducing the dimensionality of bulk van der Waals materials can lead to structural rearrangement and chemical degradation, especially in the presence of air. These challenges have slowed the progress of the discovery and analysis of chemically diverse 2D materials. Here, we provide a case study on the shear exfoliation of a class of wide band gap van der Waals materials termed II–VI layered hybrids (II–VI LHs) and show how reducing their dimension influences their structural and chemical stabilities. ZnSe(butylamine) and ZnSe(octylamine) are exfoliated, yielding shear-thinned material whose resistance toward degradation via oxidation is studied in depth by a variety of macro- and microscopic characterization techniques. Mechanical energy input, solvent–ligand interaction, and exposure to ambient conditions all play important roles in the stability of these materials. Our findings suggest that moderately coordinating alkylamine layers stabilize 2D materials that would otherwise degrade during exfoliation and exposure to air
Mesenchymal stem cells and immunomodulation: current status and future prospects
published_or_final_versio
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