Gaussians versus back-to-back exponentials: a numerical study

The underlying magnetic field distribution in many samples studied by the mu R technique is asymmetric. Despite this, quite often fit functions assuming symmetric (Gaussian) distributions are used. Here, a back-to-back exponential function, which can be made asymmetric with fit parameters, is studied numerically alongside a Gaussian function to see how well each fits symmetric and asymmetric simulated data. Both fit symmetric data well, but the back-to-back exponential is found to be superior for fitting asymmetric data

Effects of Vortex Pinning on the Temperature Dependence of the Magnetic Field Distributions in Superconductors

The temperature and applied-magnetic-field dependence of the second moments of the magnetic-field distributions as measured by mu SR for YBCO and BSCCO have been fit for four different intrinsic-field-distribution models (d-wave, 2-fluid, empirical, and BCS). It is found that if a pinning potential becomes important at about 20 K, all of the models can fit the data reasonably well. The fits and the associated fitting parameters are presented

Production, Collection and Utilization of Very Long-Lived Heavy Charged Leptons

If a fourth generation of leptons exists, both the neutrino and its charged partner must be heavier than 45 GeV. We suppose that the neutrino is the heavier of the two, and that a global or discrete symmetry prohibits intergenerational mixing. In that case, non-renormalizable Planck scale interactions will induce a very small mixing; dimension five interactions will lead to a lifetime for the heavy charged lepton of $O(1-100)$ years. Production of such particles is discussed, and it is shown that a few thousands can be produced and collected at a linear collider. The possible uses of these heavy leptons is also briefly discussed.Comment: 9 pages Late

Reliability of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors on low dislocation density bulk GaN substrate: Implications of surface step edges

To enable gaining insight into degradation mechanisms of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors, devices grown on a low-dislocation-density bulk-GaN substrate were studied. Gateleakage current and electroluminescence (EL) monitoring revealed a progressive appearance of EL spots during off-state stress which signify the generation of gate current leakage paths.Atomic force microscopy evidenced the formation of semiconductor surface pits at the failure location, which corresponds to the interaction region of the gate contact edge and the edges ofsurface steps

Enhanced Tearing by Electrical Stimulation of the Anterior Ethmoid Nerve

PURPOSE. Electrical neurostimulation enhances tear secretion, and can be applied to treatment of dry eye disease. Using a chronic implant, we evaluate the effects of stimulating the anterior ethmoid nerve on the aqueous, lipid, and protein content of secreted tears. METHODS. Neurostimulators were implanted beneath the nasal mucosa in 13 New Zealand white rabbits. Stimulations (2.3-2.8 mA pulses of 75-875 ls in duration repeated at 30-100 Hz for 3 minutes) were performed daily, for 3 weeks to measure changes in tear volume (Schirmer test), osmolarity (TearLab osmometer), lipid (Oil-Red-O staining), and protein (BCA assay, mass spectrometry). RESULTS. Stimulation of the anterior ethmoid nerve in the frequency range of 30 to 90 Hz increased tear volume by 92% to 133% (P 0.01). Modulating the treatment with 50% duty cycle (3 seconds of stimulation repeated every 6 seconds) increased tear secretion an additional 23% above continuous stimulation (P 0.01). Tear secretion returned to baseline levels within 7 minutes after stimulation ended. Tear film osmolarity decreased by 7 mOsmol/ L, tear lipid increased by 24% to 36% and protein concentration increased by 48% (P 0.05). Relative abundance of the lacrimal gland proteins remained the same, while several serum and corneal proteins decreased with stimulation (P 0.05). CONCLUSIONS. Electrical stimulation of the anterior ethmoid nerve increased aqueous tear volume, reduced tear osmolarity, added lipid, and increased the concentration of normal tear proteins. Human studies with an intranasal stimulator should verify these effects in patients with aqueous-and lipid-deficient forms of dry eye disease

Thermodynamic properties of excess-oxygen-doped La2CuO4.11 near a simultaneous transition to superconductivity and long-range magnetic order

We have measured the specific heat and magnetization {\it versus} temperature in a single crystal sample of superconducting La$_{2}$CuO$_{4.11}$ and in a sample of the same material after removing the excess oxygen, in magnetic fields up to 15 T. Using the deoxygenated sample to subtract the phonon contribution, we find a broad peak in the specific heat, centered at 50 K. This excess specific heat is attributed to fluctuations of the Cu spins possibly enhanced by an interplay with the charge degrees of freedom, and appears to be independent of magnetic field, up to 15 T. Near the superconducting transition $T_{c}$($H$=0)= 43 K, we find a sharp feature that is strongly suppressed when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the crystallographic c-axis. A model for 3D vortex fluctuations is used to scale magnetization measured at several magnetic fields. When the magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the c-axis, the only observed effect is a slight shift in the superconducting transition temperature.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Modelling neurofibromatosis type 1 tibial dysplasia and its treatment with lovastatin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bowing and/or pseudarthrosis of the tibia is a known severe complication of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Mice with conditionally inactivated neurofibromin (Nf1) in the developing limbs and cranium (Nf1Prx1) show bowing of the tibia caused by decreased bone mineralisation and increased bone vascularisation. However, in contrast to NF1 patients, spontaneous fractures do not occur in Nf1Prx1 mice probably due to the relatively low mechanical load. We studied bone healing in a cortical bone injury model in Nf1Prx1 mice as a model for NF1-associated bone disease. Taking advantage of this experimental model we explore effects of systemically applied lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, on the Nf1 deficient bone repair.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cortical injury was induced bilaterally in the <it>tuberositas tibiae </it>in Nf1Prx1 mutant mice and littermate controls according to a method described previously. Paraffin as well as methacrylate sections were analysed from each animal. We divided 24 sex-matched mutant mice into a lovastatin-treated and an untreated group. The lovastatin-treated mice received 0.15 mg activated lovastatin by daily gavage. The bone repair process was analysed at three consecutive time points post injury, using histological methods, micro computed tomography measurements and <it>in situ </it>hybridisation. At each experimental time point, three lovastatin-treated mutant mice, three untreated mutant mice and three untreated control mice were analysed. The animal group humanely killed on day 14 post injury was expanded to six treated and six untreated mutant mice as well as six control mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Bone injury repair is a complex process, which requires the concerted effort of numerous cell types. It is initiated by an inflammatory response, which stimulates fibroblasts from the surrounding connective tissue to proliferate and fill in the injury site with a provisional extracellular matrix. In parallel, mesenchymal progenitor cells from the periost are recruited into the injury site to become osteoblasts. In Nf1Prx1 mice bone repair is delayed and characterised by the excessive formation and the persistence of fibro-cartilaginous tissue and impaired extracellular matrix mineralisation. Correspondingly, expression of Runx2 is downregulated. High-dose systemic lovastatin treatment restores Runx2 expression and accelerates new bone formation, thus improving cortical bone repair in Nf1Prx1 tibia. The bone anabolic effects correlate with a reduction of the mitogen activated protein kinase pathway hyper-activation in Nf1-deficient cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest the potential usefulness of lovastatin, a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1987 for the treatment of hypercholesteraemia, in the treatment of Nf1-related fracture healing abnormalities. The experimental model presented here constitutes a valuable tool for the pre-clinical stage testing of candidate drugs, targeting Nf1-associated bone dysplasia.</p

Immune Response and Mitochondrial Metabolism Are Commonly Deregulated in DMD and Aging Skeletal Muscle

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a complex process involving multiple pathways downstream of the primary genetic insult leading to fatal muscle degeneration. Aging muscle is a multifactorial neuromuscular process characterized by impaired muscle regeneration leading to progressive atrophy. We hypothesized that these chronic atrophying situations may share specific myogenic adaptative responses at transcriptional level according to tissue remodeling. Muscle biopsies from four young DMD and four AGED subjects were referred to a group of seven muscle biopsies from young subjects without any neuromuscular disorder and explored through a dedicated expression microarray. We identified 528 differentially expressed genes (out of 2,745 analyzed), of which 328 could be validated by an exhaustive meta-analysis of public microarray datasets referring to DMD and Aging in skeletal muscle. Among the 328 validated co-expressed genes, 50% had the same expression profile in both groups and corresponded to immune/fibrosis responses and mitochondrial metabolism. Generalizing these observed meta-signatures with large compendia of public datasets reinforced our results as they could be also identified in other pathological processes and in diverse physiological conditions. Focusing on the common gene signatures in these two atrophying conditions, we observed enrichment in motifs for candidate transcription factors that may coordinate either the immune/fibrosis responses (ETS1, IRF1, NF1) or the mitochondrial metabolism (ESRRA). Deregulation in their expression could be responsible, at least in part, for the same transcriptome changes initiating the chronic muscle atrophy. This study suggests that distinct pathophysiological processes may share common gene responses and pathways related to specific transcription factors

A distribution-free procedure for testing versatile alternative in medical multisample comparison studies

We propose a test for multisample comparison studies that can be applied without strict assumptions, especially when the underlying population distributions are far from normal. The new test can detect differences not only in location or scale but also in shape parameters among parent population distributions. We are motivated by numerous medical studies, where the variables are not normally distributed and may present in the various groups more complex differences than simple differences in a particular aspect of underlying distributions, such as location or scale. In these situations, traditional ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests are unreliable since the underlying assumptions are not valid. The proposed procedure also allows the researcher to determine which aspects are more responsible for a significant result. This is an important practical advantage over procedures that test for general differences among the distribution functions but cannot identify which aspects lead to significant results. The asymptotic distribution of the test statistic is analyzed along with its small sample behavior against several competing tests. The practical advantages of the proposed procedure are illustrated with a multisample comparison study of a biomarker for liver damage in patients with hepatitis C

Finishing bison by offering a choice of feeds and room to roam

This paper examines several methods of finishing bison. All studies were conducted on commercial bison operations. In the first study, one group of bison was fed a total mixed ration (TMR); the other group was offered a choice between poor quality grass hay and an energy pellet. In addition, bison fed the TMR were more closely confined than those offered choice. Bison fed choice had higher average daily gain (ADG), lower cost of gain and lower death loss than animals fed the TMR. The second study utilized low, medium, and high-input finishing systems. Bison in the low-put system had the lowest ADG and cost of gain compared to the other two systems. The third study examined bison finished: 1) in a traditional feedlot, 2) with a choice of feeds in loose confinement, and 3) on pasture that were supplemented with a choice of grains. The loose confinement group had the highest ADG than the other groups, but the supplemented pasture group was least costly to finish. The last study looked at a bison feeding operation changing from a TMR to a choice of feeds. Bison offered choice had higher ADG, suffered less illness, and timid animals finished as quickly as more aggressive animals. When finishing bison, offering them a choice of feeds, providing adequate space, and leaving young bison on pasture or rangeland as long as possible provided benefits for producers in terms of lower costs of gain, higher ADG, and reduced illness and death