893 research outputs found
Two-dimensional imaging of edge-localized modes in KSTAR plasmas unperturbed and perturbed by n=1 external magnetic fields
The temporal evolution of edge-localized modes (ELMs) has been studied using a 2-D electron cyclotron emission imaging system in the KSTAR tokamak. The ELMs are observed to evolve in three distinctive stages: the initial linear growth of multiple filamentary structures having a net poloidal rotation, the interim state of regularly spaced saturated filaments, and the final crash through a short transient phase characterized by abrupt changes in the relative amplitudes and distance among filaments. The crash phase, typically consisted of multiple bursts of a single filament, involves a complex dynamics, poloidal elongation of the bursting filament, development of a fingerlike bulge, and fast localized burst through the finger. Substantial alterations of the ELM dynamics, such as mode number, poloidal rotation, and crash time scale, have been observed under external magnetic perturbations with the toroidal mode number n = 1. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3694842]X1125sciescopu
TLR9 regulates adipose tissue inflammation and obesity-related metabolic disorders
ObjectiveRecent studies have revealed a link between Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling and the adipose tissue inflammation associated with obesity. Although TLR9 is known to play an important role in inflammation and innate immunity, its role in mediating adipose tissue inflammation has not yet been investigated. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the role of TLR9 in regulating immune cells in visceral adipose tissue and maintaining the metabolic homeostasis. MethodsWild-type and TLR9-deficient mice were fed with a high-fat diet, and the body weight gain, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and adipose tissue inflammation were examined. ResultsTLR9-deficient mice gained significantly more weight and body fat under a high-fat diet than wild-type mice and exhibited more severe glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. We also found a dramatic increase of M1 macrophages as well as T(H)1 cells in the adipose tissue of TLR9-deficient mice compared to wild-type mice. Furthermore, the levels of various proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were higher in TLR9-deficient mice. ConclusionsTLR9 signaling is involved in regulating adipose tissue inflammation and controlling obesity and the metabolic syndrome.1174Ysciescopu
Validation and Reliability of a Smartphone Application for the International Prostate Symptom Score Questionnaire: A Randomized Repeated Measures Crossover Study
Background: Smartphone-based assessment may be a useful diagnostic and monitoring tool for patients. There have been many attempts to create a smartphone diagnostic tool for clinical use in various medical fields but few have demonstrated scientific validity. Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a smartphone application of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and to demonstrate its validity and reliability. Methods: From June 2012 to May 2013, a total of 1581 male participants (>= 40 years old), with or without lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), visited our urology clinic via the health improvement center at Soonchunhyang University Hospital (Republic of Korea) and were enrolled in this study. A randomized repeated measures crossover design was employed using a smartphone application of the IPSS and the conventional paper form of the IPSS. Paired t test under a hypothesis of non-inferior trial was conducted. For the reliability test, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was measured. Results: The total score of the IPSS (P=.289) and each item of the IPSS (P=.157-1.000) showed no differences between the paper version and the smartphone version of the IPSS. The mild, moderate, and severe LUTS groups showed no differences between the two versions of the IPSS. A significant correlation was noted in the total group (ICC=.935, P<.001). The mild, moderate, and severe LUTS groups also showed significant correlations (ICC=.616,.549, and .548 respectively, all P<.001). There was selection bias in this study, as only participants who had smartphones could participate. Conclusions: The validity and reliability of the smartphone application version were comparable to the conventional paper version of the IPSS. The smartphone application of the IPSS could be an effective method for measuring lower urinary tract symptoms.X1144Ysciescopu
Appearance and Dynamics of Helical Flux Tubes under Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating in the Core of KSTAR Plasmas
Dual (or sometimes multiple) flux tubes (DFTs) have been observed in the core of sawtoothing KSTAR tokamak plasmas with electron cyclotron resonance heating. The time evolution of the flux tubes visualized by a 2D electron cyclotron emission imaging diagnostic typically consists of four distinctive phases: (1) growth of one flux tube out of multiple small flux tubes during the initial buildup period following a sawtooth crash, resulting in a single dominant flux tube along the m/n = 1/1 helical magnetic field lines, (2) sudden rapid growth of another flux tube via a fast heat transfer from the first one, resulting in approximately identical DFTs, (3) coalescence of the two flux tubes into a single m/n = 1/1 flux tube resembling the internal kink mode in the normal sawteeth, which is explained by a model of two currentcarrying wires confined on a flux surface, and (4) fast localized crash of the merged flux tube similar to the standard sawtooth crash. The dynamics of the DFTs implies that the internal kink mode is not a unique prerequisite to the sawtooth crash, providing a new insight on the control of the sawtooth.X112217Ysciescopu
Development of a LAMP assay for detection of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs using conjunctival swab samples
Background: Leishmania infantum infections in dogs play a crucial role in the transmission of pathogens causing visceral leishmaniasis to humans in the Gansu province, northwest China. To be able to control zoonotic transmission of the parasite to humans, a non-invasive loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to specifically detect L. infantum infections in dogs was developed. Methods: The primers used in the LAMP assay were designed to target kinetoplast DNA minicircle sequences of the L. infantum isolate MCAN/CN/90/SC and tested using DNA isolated from promastigotes of different Leishmania species. The LAMP assay was evaluated with conjunctional swab samples obtained from 111 and 33 dogs living in an endemic and a non-endemic region of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in the Gansu province, respectively. The LAMP assay was also compared with conventional PCR, ELISA and microscopy using conjunctional swab, serum and bone marrow samples from the dogs, respectively. Results: The LAMP assay detected 1 fg of L. infantum DNA purified from cultured promastigotes which was 10-fold more sensitive than a conventional PCR test using Leishmania genus-specific primers. No cross reaction was observed with DNA isolated from promastigotes of L. donovani, L. major, L. tropica, and L. braziliensis, and the L. infantum reference strain MHOM/TN/80/IPT1. The L. infantum-positive rates obtained for field-collected samples were 61.3%, 58.6%, 40.5% and 10.8% by LAMP, PCR, ELISA and microscopy, respectively. As only one out of the 33 samples from control dogs from the non-endemic region of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis was positive by the LAMP assay and the PCR test, the observed true negative rate (specificity) was 97% for both methods. Conclusion: This study has shown that the non-invasive, conjunctional swab-based LAMP assay developed was more sensitive in the detection of leishmaniasis in dogs than PCR, ELISA and microscopy. The findings indicate that the LAMP assay is a sensitive and specific method for the field surveillance of domestic dogs, particularly of asymptomatic canines, in ZVL-endemic areas in western China
Geographic Distribution of Urologists in Korea, 2007 to 2012
The adequacy of the urologist work force in Korea has never been investigated. This study investigated the geographic distribution of urologists in Korea. County level data from the National Health Insurance Service and National Statistical Office was analyzed in this ecological study. Urologist density was defined by the number of urologists per 100,000 individuals. National patterns of urologist density were mapped graphically at the county level using GIS software. To control the time sequence, regression analysis with fitted line plot was conducted. The difference of distribution of urologist density was analyzed by ANCOVA. Urologists density showed an uneven distribution according to county characteristics (metropolitan cities vs. nonmetropolitan cities vs. rural areas; mean square = 102.329, P < 0.001) and also according to year (mean square = 9.747, P = 0.048). Regression analysis between metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities showed significant difference in the change of urologists per year (P = 0.019). Metropolitan cities vs. rural areas and non-metropolitan cities vs. rural areas showed no differences. Among the factors, the presence of training hospitals was the affecting factor for the uneven distribution of urologist density (P < 0.001). Uneven distribution of urologists in Korea likely originated from the relatively low urologist density in rural areas. However, considering the time sequencing data from 2007 to 2012, there was a difference between the increase of urologist density in metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities.open1122sciescopuskc
A secondary RET mutation in the activation loop conferring resistance to vandetanib
Resistance to vandetanib, a type I RET kinase inhibitor, developed in a patient with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma harboring a CCDC6-RET fusion that initially exhibited a response to treatment. The resistant tumor acquired a secondary mutation resulting in a serine-to-phenylalanine substitution at codon 904 in the activation loop of the RET kinase domain. The S904F mutation confers resistance to vandetanib by increasing the ATP affinity and autophosphorylation activity of RET kinase. A reduced interaction with the drug is also observed in vitro for the S904F mutant by thermal shift assay. A crystal structure of the S904F mutant reveals a small hydrophobic core around F904 likely to enhance basal kinase activity by stabilizing an active conformer. Our findings indicate that missense mutations in the activation loop of the kinase domain are able to increase kinase activity and confer drug resistance through allosteric effects
Evidence for the h_b(1P) meson in the decay Upsilon(3S) --> pi0 h_b(1P)
Using a sample of 122 million Upsilon(3S) events recorded with the BaBar
detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at SLAC, we search for
the spin-singlet partner of the P-wave chi_{bJ}(1P) states in the
sequential decay Upsilon(3S) --> pi0 h_b(1P), h_b(1P) --> gamma eta_b(1S). We
observe an excess of events above background in the distribution of the recoil
mass against the pi0 at mass 9902 +/- 4(stat.) +/- 2(syst.) MeV/c^2. The width
of the observed signal is consistent with experimental resolution, and its
significance is 3.1sigma, including systematic uncertainties. We obtain the
value (4.3 +/- 1.1(stat.) +/- 0.9(syst.)) x 10^{-4} for the product branching
fraction BF(Upsilon(3S)-->pi0 h_b) x BF(h_b-->gamma eta_b).Comment: 8 pages, 4 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid
Communications
Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS
has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions
at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection
criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined.
For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a
muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the
whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4,
while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The
efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than
90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall
momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The
transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity
for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be
better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions
of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS
has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions
at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection
criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined.
For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a
muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the
whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4,
while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The
efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than
90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall
momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The
transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity
for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be
better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions
of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
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