214 research outputs found

    On the 3n+l Quantum Number in the Cluster Problem

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    It has recently been suggested that an exactly solvable problem characterized by a new quantum number may underlie the electronic shell structure observed in the mass spectra of medium-sized sodium clusters. We investigate whether the conjectured quantum number 3n+l bears a similarity to the quantum numbers n+l and 2n+l, which characterize the hydrogen problem and the isotropic harmonic oscillator in three dimensions.Comment: 8 pages, revtex, 4 eps figures included, to be published in Phys.Rev.A, additional material available at http://radix2.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de/koch/Diss

    Theory for the ultrafast ablation of graphite films

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    The physical mechanisms for damage formation in graphite films induced by femtosecond laser pulses are analyzed using a microscopic electronic theory. We describe the nonequilibrium dynamics of electrons and lattice by performing molecular dynamics simulations on time-dependent potential energy surfaces. We show that graphite has the unique property of exhibiting two distinct laser induced structural instabilities. For high absorbed energies (> 3.3 eV/atom) we find nonequilibrium melting followed by fast evaporation. For low intensities above the damage threshold (> 2.0 eV/atom) ablation occurs via removal of intact graphite sheets.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 3 PostScript figures, submitted to Phys. Re

    Practical heat pump and storage integration into non-continuous processes: A hybrid approach utilizing insight based and nonlinear programming techniques

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    This paper focuses on industrial heat pump (HP) integration in non-continuous processes. To achieve the necessary time-wise process decoupling of the HP system, heat recovery loops (HRLs) with stratified storages are used. This design type can be modeled as a mixed integer nonlinear programming problem which often results in expensive mathematical formulations. The challenge is addressed by a practical method that combines the insight based approach of Pinch Analysis with mathematical programming techniques to give the engineer more flexibility for the application of the method and to avoid long computation times. By the use of the insight based methods, the solution space of the mathematical formulation is restricted, and thus its complexity is reduced to a nonlinear programming problem optimizing the temperature levels in the HP-HRL system. As an objective, total annual costs (TAC) of the HP-HRL system are minimized. The developed hybrid method is applied to a dairy site and compared in terms of approach temperatures, temperature lift of the HP, TAC, and greenhouse gas emissions to the existing methods. It is shown, that the hybrid method provides realistic approach temperatures in contrast to the existing insight based method

    The Overlap of Lung Tissue Transcriptome of Smoke Exposed Mice with Human Smoking and COPD

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    Genome-wide mRNA profiling in lung tissue from human and animal models can provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While 6 months of smoke exposure are widely used, shorter durations were also reported. The overlap of short term and long-term smoke exposure in mice is currently not well understood, and their representation of the human condition is uncertain. Lung tissue gene expression profiles of six murine smoking experiments (n = 48) were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and analyzed to identify the murine smoking signature. The 'human smoking' gene signature containing 386 genes was previously published in the lung eQTL study (n = 1,111). A signature of mild COPD containing 7 genes was also identified in the same study. The lung tissue gene signature of 'severe COPD' (n = 70) contained 4,071 genes and was previously published. We detected 3,723 differentially expressed genes in the 6 month-exposure mice datasets (FDR <0.1). Of those, 184 genes (representing 48% of human smoking) and 1,003 (representing 27% of human COPD) were shared with the human smoking-related genes and the COPD severity-related genes, respectively. There was 4-fold over-representation of human and murine smoking-related genes (P = 6.7 × 10-26) and a 1.4 fold in the severe COPD -related genes (P = 2.3 × 10-12). There was no significant enrichment of the mice and human smoking-related genes in mild COPD signature. These data suggest that murine smoke models are strongly representative of molecular processes of human smoking but less of COPD

    Periodic orbit theory for realistic cluster potentials: The leptodermous expansion

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    The formation of supershells observed in large metal clusters can be qualitatively understood from a periodic-orbit-expansion for a spherical cavity. To describe the changes in the supershell structure for different materials, one has, however, to go beyond that simple model. We show how periodic-orbit-expansions for realistic cluster potentials can be derived by expanding only the classical radial action around the limiting case of a spherical potential well. We give analytical results for the leptodermous expansion of Woods-Saxon potentials and show that it describes the shift of the supershells as the surface of a cluster potential gets softer. As a byproduct of our work, we find that the electronic shell and supershell structure is not affected by a lattice contraction, which might be present in small clusters.Comment: 15 pages RevTex, 11 eps figures, additional information at http://www.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de/docs/ANDERSEN/users/koch/Diss

    Influenza promotes collagen deposition via αvβ6 integrin-mediated transforming growth factor β activation.

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    Influenza infection exacerbates chronic pulmonary diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. A central pathway in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is epithelial injury leading to activation of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). The mechanism and functional consequences of influenza-induced activation of epithelial TGFβ are unclear. Influenza stimulates toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), which can increase RhoA activity, a key event prior to activation of TGFβ by the αvβ6 integrin. We hypothesized that influenza would stimulate TLR3 leading to activation of latent TGFβ via αvβ6 integrin in epithelial cells. Using H1152 (IC(50) 6.1 μm) to inhibit Rho kinase and 6.3G9 to inhibit αvβ6 integrins, we demonstrate their involvement in influenza (A/PR/8/34 H1N1) and poly(I:C)-induced TGFβ activation. We confirm the involvement of TLR3 in this process using chloroquine (IC(50) 11.9 μm) and a dominant negative TLR3 construct (pZERO-hTLR3). Examination of lungs from influenza-infected mice revealed augmented levels of collagen deposition, phosphorylated Smad2/3, αvβ6 integrin, and apoptotic cells. Finally, we demonstrate that αvβ6 integrin-mediated TGFβ activity following influenza infection promotes epithelial cell death in vitro and enhanced collagen deposition in vivo and that this response is diminished in Smad3 knock-out mice. These data show that H1N1 and poly(I:C) can induce αvβ6 integrin-dependent TGFβ activity in epithelial cells via stimulation of TLR3 and suggest a novel mechanism by which influenza infection may promote collagen deposition in fibrotic lung disease

    Female Sex and Gender in Lung/Sleep Health and Disease. Increased Understanding of Basic Biological, Pathophysiological, and Behavioral Mechanisms Leading to Better Health for Female Patients with Lung Disease

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    Female sex/gender is an undercharacterized variable in studies related to lung development and disease. Notwithstanding, many aspects of lung and sleep biology and pathobiology are impacted by female sex and female reproductive transitions. These may manifest as differential gene expression or peculiar organ development. Some conditions are more prevalent in women, such as asthma and insomnia, or, in the case of lymphangioleiomyomatosis, are seen almost exclusively in women. In other diseases, presentation differs, such as the higher frequency of exacerbations experienced by women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or greater cardiac morbidity among women with sleep-disordered breathing. Recent advances in -omics and behavioral science provide an opportunity to specifically address sex-based differences and explore research needs and opportunities that will elucidate biochemical pathways, thus enabling more targeted/personalized therapies. To explore the status of and opportunities for research in this area, the NHLBI, in partnership with the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health and the Office of Rare Diseases Research, convened a workshop of investigators in Bethesda, Maryland on September 18 and 19, 2017. At the workshop, the participants reviewed the current understanding of the biological, behavioral, and clinical implications of female sex and gender on lung and sleep health and disease, and formulated recommendations that address research gaps, with a view to achieving better health outcomes through more precise management of female patients with nonneoplastic lung disease. This report summarizes those discussions

    A new polyglyphanodontine lizard (Squamata: Borioteiioidea) from the Late Cretaceous Iharkut locality (Santonian, Hungary)

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    In recent years the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) terrestrial vertebrate locality at Iharkut (western Hungary) has yielded well-preserved remains of lizard taxa besides the remains of fishes, amphibians, turtles, crocodiles, pterosaurs and dinosaurs. Previously the polyglyphanodontine lizard Bicuspidon aff. hatzegiensis has been reported from Iharkut. However, recent excavations at this site produced more lacertilian remains including new polyglyphanodontine material, namely a maxilla and two dentaries which suggest the presence of a new genus in the Iharkut fauna. This previously unknown lizard (described here as Distortodon rhomboideus n. g. n. sp.) is distinct from other polyglyphanodontines such as Bicuspidon, Paraglyphanodon, Polyglyphanodon, Dicothodon and Peneteius. It differs from these genera mainly in having the lingual cusp situated more distally compared to the labial one on its bicuspid teeth located in the distal part of the tooth row, thus the crowns having a unique rhomboidal shape in occlusal view. Distortodon rhomboideus further strengthens the dominance of borioteiioid lizards in the Iharkut fauna. The growing presence of borioteiioids in European localities supports previous theories which suggest some paleobiogeographic connections between the western Tethyan archipelago and North America in the Late Cretaceous. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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