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Sample records for break mimicking molecules

  1. Supramolecular Systems and Chemical Reactions in Single-Molecule Break Junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaohui; Hu, Duan; Tan, Zhibing; Bai, Jie; Xiao, Zongyuan; Yang, Yang; Shi, Jia; Hong, Wenjing

    2017-04-01

    The major challenges of molecular electronics are the understanding and manipulation of the electron transport through the single-molecule junction. With the single-molecule break junction techniques, including scanning tunneling microscope break junction technique and mechanically controllable break junction technique, the charge transport through various single-molecule and supramolecular junctions has been studied during the dynamic fabrication and continuous characterization of molecular junctions. This review starts from the charge transport characterization of supramolecular junctions through a variety of noncovalent interactions, such as hydrogen bond, π-π interaction, and electrostatic force. We further review the recent progress in constructing highly conductive molecular junctions via chemical reactions, the response of molecular junctions to external stimuli, as well as the application of break junction techniques in controlling and monitoring chemical reactions in situ. We suggest that beyond the measurement of single molecular conductance, the single-molecule break junction techniques provide a promising access to study molecular assembly and chemical reactions at the single-molecule scale.

  2. Single-molecule detection of dihydroazulene photo-thermal reaction using break junction technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Cancan; Jevric, Martyn; Borges, Anders; Olsen, Stine T.; Hamill, Joseph M.; Zheng, Jue-Ting; Yang, Yang; Rudnev, Alexander; Baghernejad, Masoud; Broekmann, Peter; Petersen, Anne Ugleholdt; Wandlowski, Thomas; Mikkelsen, Kurt V.; Solomon, Gemma C.; Brøndsted Nielsen, Mogens; Hong, Wenjing

    2017-05-01

    Charge transport by tunnelling is one of the most ubiquitous elementary processes in nature. Small structural changes in a molecular junction can lead to significant difference in the single-molecule electronic properties, offering a tremendous opportunity to examine a reaction on the single-molecule scale by monitoring the conductance changes. Here, we explore the potential of the single-molecule break junction technique in the detection of photo-thermal reaction processes of a photochromic dihydroazulene/vinylheptafulvene system. Statistical analysis of the break junction experiments provides a quantitative approach for probing the reaction kinetics and reversibility, including the occurrence of isomerization during the reaction. The product ratios observed when switching the system in the junction does not follow those observed in solution studies (both experiment and theory), suggesting that the junction environment was perturbing the process significantly. This study opens the possibility of using nano-structured environments like molecular junctions to tailor product ratios in chemical reactions.

  3. Measurement and control of detailed electronic properties in a single molecule break junction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kun; Hamill, Joseph; Zhou, Jianfeng; Guo, Cunlan; Xu, Bingqian

    2014-01-01

    The lack of detailed experimental controls has been one of the major obstacles hindering progress in molecular electronics. While large fluctuations have been occurring in the experimental data, specific details, related mechanisms, and data analysis techniques are in high demand to promote our physical understanding at the single-molecule level. A series of modulations we recently developed, based on traditional scanning probe microscopy break junctions (SPMBJs), have helped to discover significant properties in detail which are hidden in the contact interfaces of a single-molecule break junction (SMBJ). For example, in the past we have shown that the correlated force and conductance changes under the saw tooth modulation and stretch-hold mode of PZT movement revealed inherent differences in the contact geometries of a molecular junction. In this paper, using a bias-modulated SPMBJ and utilizing emerging data analysis techniques, we report on the measurement of the altered alignment of the HOMO of benzene molecules with changing the anchoring group which coupled the molecule to metal electrodes. Further calculations based on Landauer fitting and transition voltage spectroscopy (TVS) demonstrated the effects of modulated bias on the location of the frontier molecular orbitals. Understanding the alignment of the molecular orbitals with the Fermi level of the electrodes is essential for understanding the behaviour of SMBJs and for the future design of more complex devices. With these modulations and analysis techniques, fruitful information has been found about the nature of the metal-molecule junction, providing us insightful clues towards the next step for in-depth study.

  4. Double-strand breaks in genome-sized DNA caused by mechanical stress under mixing: Quantitative evaluation through single-molecule observation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kikuchi, Hayato; Nose, Keiji; Yoshikawa, Yuko; Yoshikawa, Kenichi

    2018-06-01

    It is becoming increasingly apparent that changes in the higher-order structure of genome-sized DNA molecules of more than several tens kbp play important roles in the self-control of genome activity in living cells. Unfortunately, it has been rather difficult to prepare genome-sized DNA molecules without damage or fragmentation. Here, we evaluated the degree of double-strand breaks (DSBs) caused by mechanical mixing by single-molecule observation with fluorescence microscopy. The results show that DNA breaks are most significant for the first second after the initiation of mechanical agitation. Based on such observation, we propose a novel mixing procedure to significantly decrease DSBs.

  5. On the identification techniques for ionizing radiation structure breaks in the DNA molecule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamluk, A.N.; Shirko, A.V.; Zhavarankau, I.S.

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a theoretical method for evaluation of the number and locations of single-strand breaks in DNA using a change in the passage of a longitudinal wave along the double helix. A linear chain of n interacting particles connected by a pair of springs is taken as a model of the DNA molecule. (authors)

  6. Measurement and understanding of single-molecule break junction rectification caused by asymmetric contacts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Kun; Zhou, Jianfeng; Hamill, Joseph M.; Xu, Bingqian

    2014-01-01

    The contact effects of single-molecule break junctions on rectification behaviors were experimentally explored by a systematic control of anchoring groups of 1,4-disubstituted benzene molecular junctions. Single-molecule conductance and I-V characteristic measurements reveal a strong correlation between rectifying effects and the asymmetry in contacts. Analysis using energy band models and I-V calculations suggested that the rectification behavior is mainly caused by asymmetric coupling strengths at the two contact interfaces. Fitting of the rectification ratio by a modified Simmons model we developed suggests asymmetry in potential drop across the asymmetric anchoring groups as the mechanism of rectifying I-V behavior. This study provides direct experimental evidence and sheds light on the mechanisms of rectification behavior induced simply by contact asymmetry, which serves as an aid to interpret future single-molecule electronic behavior involved with asymmetric contact conformation

  7. Mirror Symmetry Breaking by Chirality Synchronisation in Liquids and Liquid Crystals of Achiral Molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschierske, Carsten; Ungar, Goran

    2016-01-04

    Spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking is an efficient way to obtain homogeneously chiral agents, pharmaceutical ingredients and materials. It is also in the focus of the discussion around the emergence of uniform chirality in biological systems. Tremendous progress has been made by symmetry breaking during crystallisation from supercooled melts or supersaturates solutions and by self-assembly on solid surfaces and in other highly ordered structures. However, recent observations of spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking in liquids and liquid crystals indicate that it is not limited to the well-ordered solid state. Herein, progress in the understanding of a new dynamic mode of symmetry breaking, based on chirality synchronisation of transiently chiral molecules in isotropic liquids and in bicontinuous cubic, columnar, smectic and nematic liquid crystalline phases is discussed. This process leads to spontaneous deracemisation in the liquid state under thermodynamic control, giving rise to long-term stable symmetry-broken fluids, even at high temperatures. These fluids form conglomerates that are capable of extraordinary strong chirality amplification, eventually leading to homochirality and providing a new view on the discussion of emergence of uniform chirality in prebiotic systems. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Single molecule dynamics at a mechanically controllable break junction in solution at room temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konishi, Tatsuya; Kiguchi, Manabu; Takase, Mai; Nagasawa, Fumika; Nabika, Hideki; Ikeda, Katsuyoshi; Uosaki, Kohei; Ueno, Kosei; Misawa, Hiroaki; Murakoshi, Kei

    2013-01-23

    The in situ observation of geometrical and electronic structural dynamics of a single molecule junction is critically important in order to further progress in molecular electronics. Observations of single molecular junctions are difficult, however, because of sensitivity limits. Here, we report surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of a single 4,4'-bipyridine molecule under conditions of in situ current flow in a nanogap, by using nano-fabricated, mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) electrodes. When adsorbed at room temperature on metal nanoelectrodes in solution to form a single molecule junction, statistical analysis showed that nontotally symmetric b(1) and b(2) modes of 4,4'-bipyridine were strongly enhanced relative to observations of the same modes in solid or aqueous solutions. Significant changes in SERS intensity, energy (wavenumber), and selectivity of Raman vibrational bands that are coincident with current fluctuations provide information on distinct states of electronic and geometrical structure of the single molecule junction, even under large thermal fluctuations occurring at room temperature. We observed the dynamics of 4,4'-bipyridine motion between vertical and tilting configurations in the Au nanogap via b(1) and b(2) mode switching. A slight increase in the tilting angle of the molecule was also observed by noting the increase in the energies of Raman modes and the decrease in conductance of the molecular junction.

  9. Insulator-protected mechanically controlled break junctions for measuring single-molecule conductance in aqueous environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muthusubramanian, N.; Galan, E.; Maity, C.; Eelkema, R.; Grozema, F. C.; van der Zant, H. S. J.

    2016-07-01

    We present a method to fabricate insulated gold mechanically controlled break junctions (MCBJ) by coating the metal with a thin layer of aluminum oxide using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition. The Al2O3 thickness deposited on the MCBJ devices was varied from 2 to 15 nm to test the suppression of leakage currents in deionized water and phosphate buffered saline. Junctions coated with a 15 nm thick oxide layer yielded atomically sharp electrodes and negligible conductance counts in the range of 1 to 10-4 G0 (1 G0 = 77 μS), where single-molecule conductances are commonly observed. The insulated devices were used to measure the conductance of an amphiphilic oligophenylene ethynylene derivative in deionized water.

  10. Insulator-protected mechanically controlled break junctions for measuring single-molecule conductance in aqueous environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muthusubramanian, N.; Zant, H. S. J. van der [Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft (Netherlands); Galan, E.; Maity, C.; Eelkema, R.; Grozema, F. C. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft (Netherlands)

    2016-07-04

    We present a method to fabricate insulated gold mechanically controlled break junctions (MCBJ) by coating the metal with a thin layer of aluminum oxide using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition. The Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thickness deposited on the MCBJ devices was varied from 2 to 15 nm to test the suppression of leakage currents in deionized water and phosphate buffered saline. Junctions coated with a 15 nm thick oxide layer yielded atomically sharp electrodes and negligible conductance counts in the range of 1 to 10{sup −4} G{sub 0} (1 G{sub 0} = 77 μS), where single-molecule conductances are commonly observed. The insulated devices were used to measure the conductance of an amphiphilic oligophenylene ethynylene derivative in deionized water.

  11. Advance of Mechanically Controllable Break Junction for Molecular Electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lu; Wang, Ling; Zhang, Lei; Xiang, Dong

    2017-06-01

    Molecular electronics stands for the ultimate size of functional elements, keeping up with an unstoppable trend over the past few decades. As a vital component of molecular electronics, single molecular junctions have attracted significant attention from research groups all over the world. Due to its pronounced superiority, the mechanically controllable break junctions (MCBJ) technique has been widely applied to characterize the dynamic performance of single molecular junctions. This review presents a system analysis for single-molecule junctions and offers an overview of four test-beds for single-molecule junctions, thus offering more insight into the mechanisms of electron transport. We mainly focus on the development of state-of-the-art mechanically controlled break junctions. The three-terminal gated MCBJ approaches are introduced to manipulate the electron transport of molecules, and MCBJs are combined with characterization techniques. Additionally, applications of MCBJs and remarkable properties of single molecules are addressed. Finally, the challenges and perspective for the mechanically controllable break junctions technique are provided.

  12. Zurek–Kibble Symmetry Breaking Process in Superconducting Rings; Spontaneous Fluxon Formation in Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aarøe, Morten; Monaco, Roberto; Dmitriev, P

    2007-01-01

    We report on new investigations of spontaneous symmetry breaking in non-adiabatic phase transitions. This Zurek-Kibble (ZK) process is mimicked in solid state systems by trapping of magnetic flux quanta, fluxons, in a long annular Josephson tunnel junction quenched through the normal-superconducting...

  13. In Silico Identification of Mimicking Molecules as Defense Inducers Triggering Jasmonic Acid Mediated Immunity against Alternaria Blight Disease in Brassica Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinesh Pandey

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola are two major phytopathogenic fungi which cause Alternaria blight, a recalcitrant disease on Brassica crops throughout the world, which is highly destructive and responsible for significant yield losses. Since no resistant source is available against Alternaria blight, therefore, efforts have been made in the present study to identify defense inducer molecules which can induce jasmonic acid (JA mediated defense against the disease. It is believed that JA triggered defense response will prevent necrotrophic mode of colonization of Alternaria brassicae fungus. The JA receptor, COI1 is one of the potential targets for triggering JA mediated immunity through interaction with JA signal. In the present study, few mimicking compounds more efficient than naturally occurring JA in terms of interaction with COI1 were identified through virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulation studies. A high quality structural model of COI1 was developed using the protein sequence of Brassica rapa. This was followed by virtual screening of 767 analogs of JA from ZINC database for interaction with COI1. Two analogs viz. ZINC27640214 and ZINC43772052 showed more binding affinity with COI1 as compared to naturally occurring JA. Molecular dynamics simulation of COI1 and COI1-JA complex, as well as best screened interacting structural analogs of JA with COI1 was done for 50 ns to validate the stability of system. It was found that ZINC27640214 possesses efficient, stable, and good cell permeability properties. Based on the obtained results and its physicochemical properties, it is capable of mimicking JA signaling and may be used as defense inducers for triggering JA mediated resistance against Alternaria blight, only after further validation through field trials.

  14. Image charge effects in single-molecule junctions: Breaking of symmetries and negative-differential resistance in a benzene single-electron transistor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaasbjerg, Kristen; Flensberg, K.

    2011-01-01

    and molecular symmetries remain unclear. Using a theoretical framework developed for semiconductor-nanostructure-based single-electron transistors (SETs), we demonstrate that the image charge interaction breaks the molecular symmetries in a benzene-based single-molecule transistor operating in the Coulomb...... blockade regime. This results in the appearance of a so-called blocking state, which gives rise to negative-differential resistance (NDR). We show that the appearance of NDR and its magnitude in the symmetry-broken benzene SET depends in a complicated way on the interplay between the many-body matrix...

  15. Positive role of peptidoglycan breaks in lactococcal biofilm formation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mercier, C; Durrieu, C; Briandet, R; Domakova, E; Tremblay, J; Buist, G; Kulakauskas, S

    2002-01-01

    Bacterial attachment to solid matrices depends on adhesive molecules present on the cell surface. Here we establish a positive correlation between peptidoglycan (PG) breaks, rather than particular molecules, and biofilm-forming capacity in the Gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis. The L.

  16. A molecular dynamics-based algorithm for evaluating the glycosaminoglycan mimicking potential of synthetic, homogenous, sulfated small molecules.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Balaji Nagarajan

    Full Text Available Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs are key natural biopolymers that exhibit a range of biological functions including growth and differentiation. Despite this multiplicity of function, natural GAG sequences have not yielded drugs because of problems of heterogeneity and synthesis. Recently, several homogenous non-saccharide glycosaminoglycan mimetics (NSGMs have been reported as agents displaying major therapeutic promise. Yet, it remains unclear whether sulfated NSGMs structurally mimic sulfated GAGs. To address this, we developed a three-step molecular dynamics (MD-based algorithm to compare sulfated NSGMs with GAGs. In the first step of this algorithm, parameters related to the range of conformations sampled by the two highly sulfated molecules as free entities in water were compared. The second step compared identity of binding site geometries and the final step evaluated comparable dynamics and interactions in the protein-bound state. Using a test case of interactions with fibroblast growth factor-related proteins, we show that this three-step algorithm effectively predicts the GAG structure mimicking property of NSGMs. Specifically, we show that two unique dimeric NSGMs mimic hexameric GAG sequences in the protein-bound state. In contrast, closely related monomeric and trimeric NSGMs do not mimic GAG in either the free or bound states. These results correspond well with the functional properties of NSGMs. The results show for the first time that appropriately designed sulfated NSGMs can be good structural mimetics of GAGs and the incorporation of a MD-based strategy at the NSGM library screening stage can identify promising mimetics of targeted GAG sequences.

  17. Solid-state nanopores for scanning single molecules and mimicking biology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kowalczyk, S.W.

    2011-01-01

    Solid-state nanopores, nanometer-size holes in a thin synthetic membrane, are a versatile tool for the detection and manipulation of charged biomolecules. This thesis describes mostly experimental work on DNA translocation through solid-state nanopores, which we study at the single-molecule level.

  18. Role of solvent environments in single molecule conductance used insulator-modified mechanically controlled break junctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muthusubramanian, Nandini; Maity, Chandan; Galan Garcia, Elena; Eelkema, Rienk; Grozema, Ferdinand; van der Zant, Herre; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Collaboration; Department of Chemical Engineering Collaboration

    We present a method for studying the effects of polar solvents on charge transport through organic/biological single molecules by developing solvent-compatible mechanically controlled break junctions of gold coated with a thin layer of aluminium oxide using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD). The optimal oxide thickness was experimentally determined to be 15 nm deposited at ALD operating temperature of 300°C which yielded atomically sharp electrodes and reproducible single-barrier tunnelling behaviour across a wide conductance range between 1 G0 and 10-7 G0. The insulator protected MCBJ devices were found to be effective in various solvents such as deionized water, phosphate buffered saline, methanol, acetonitrile and dichlorobenzene. The yield of molecular junctions using such insulated electrodes was tested by developing a chemical protocol for synthesizing an amphipathic form of oligo-phenylene ethynylene (OPE3-PEO) with thioacetate anchoring groups. This work has further applications in studying effects of solvation, dipole orientation and other thermodynamic interactions on charge transport. Eu Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN). MOLECULAR-SCALE ELECTRONICS: ``MOLESCO'' Project Number 606728.

  19. Bone tumor mimickers: A pictorial essay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mhuircheartaigh, Jennifer Ni; Lin, Yu-Ching; Wu, Jim S

    2014-01-01

    Focal lesions in bone are very common and many of these lesions are not bone tumors. These bone tumor mimickers can include numerous normal anatomic variants and non-neoplastic processes. Many of these tumor mimickers can be left alone, while others can be due to a significant disease process. It is important for the radiologist and clinician to be aware of these bone tumor mimickers and understand the characteristic features which allow discrimination between them and true neoplasms in order to avoid unnecessary additional workup. Knowing which lesions to leave alone or which ones require workup can prevent misdiagnosis and reduce patient anxiety

  20. Molecular electronics--resonant transport through single molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lörtscher, Emanuel; Riel, Heike

    2010-01-01

    The mechanically controllable break-junction technique (MCBJ) enables us to investigate charge transport through an individually contacted and addressed molecule in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment at variable temperature ranging from room temperature down to 4 K. Using a statistical measurement and analysis approach, we acquire current-voltage (I-V) characteristics during the repeated formation, manipulation, and breaking of a molecular junction. At low temperatures, voltages accessing the first molecular orbitals in resonance can be applied, providing spectroscopic information about the junction's energy landscape, in particular about the molecular level alignment in respect to the Fermi energy of the electrodes. Thereby, we can investigate the non-linear transport properties of various types of functional molecules and explore their potential use as functional building blocks for future nano-electronics. An example will be given by the reversible and controllable switching between two distinct conductive states of a single molecule. As a proof-of-principle for functional molecular devices, a single-molecule memory element will be demonstrated.

  1. A theoretical study of symmetry-breaking organic overlayers on single- and bi-layer graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales-Cifuentes, Josue; Einstein, T. L.

    2013-03-01

    An ``overlayer'' of molecules that breaks the AB symmetry of graphene can produce (modify) a band gap in single- (bi-) layer graphene.[2] Since the triangular shaped trimesic acid (TMA) molecule forms two familiar symmetry breaking configurations, we are motivated to model TMA physisorption on graphene surfaces in conjunction with experiments by Groce et al. at UMD. Using VASP, with ab initio van der Waals density functionals (vdW-DF), we simulate adsorption of TMA onto a graphene surface in several symmetry-breaking arrangements in order to predict/understand the effect of TMA adsorption on experimental observables. Supported by NSF-MRSEC Grant DMR 05-20471.

  2. Visualization of DNA double-strand break repair: From molecules to cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krawczyk, Przemek M.; Stap, Jan; Aten, Jacob A.

    2008-01-01

    DNA double-strand break (DSB) signaling and repair processes are positioned at the crossroad of nuclear pathways that regulate DNA replication, cell division, senescence and apoptosis. Importantly, errors in DSB repair may lead to lethal or potentially tumorigenic chromosome rearrangements.

  3. Fast temporal fluctuations in single-molecule junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ochs, Roif; Secker, Daniel; Elbing, Mark; Mayor, Marcel; Weber, Heiko B

    2006-01-01

    The noise within the electrical current through single-molecule junctions is studied cryogenic temperature. The organic sample molecules were contacted with the mechanically controlled break-junction technique. The noise spectra refer to a where only few Lorentzian fluctuators occur in the conductance. The frequency dependence shows qualitative variations from sample to sample.

  4. Mechanically controllable break junctions for molecular electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Dong; Jeong, Hyunhak; Lee, Takhee; Mayer, Dirk

    2013-09-20

    A mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) represents a fundamental technique for the investigation of molecular electronic junctions, especially for the study of the electronic properties of single molecules. With unique advantages, the MCBJ technique has provided substantial insight into charge transport processes in molecules. In this review, the techniques for sample fabrication, operation and the various applications of MCBJs are introduced and the history, challenges and future of MCBJs are discussed. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Molecular Wring Resonances in Chain Molecules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bohr, Henrik; Brunak, Søren; Bohr, Jakob

    1997-01-01

    It is shown that the eigenfrequency of collective twist excitations in chain molecules can be in the megahertz and gigahertz range. Accordingly, resonance states can be obtained at specific frequencies, and phenomena that involve structural properties can take place. Chain molecules can alter the...... their conformation and their ability to function, and a breaking of the chain can result. It is suggested that this phenomenon forms the basis for effects caused by the interaction of microwaves and biomolecules, e.g. microwave assisted hydrolysis of chain molecules....

  6. A Novel Colorimetric Immunoassay Utilizing the Peroxidase Mimicking Activity of Magnetic Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun Gyu Park

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available A simple colorimetric immunoassay system, based on the peroxidase mimicking activity of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs, has been developed to detect clinically important antigenic molecules. MNPs with ca. 10 nm in diameter were synthesized and conjugated with specific antibodies against target molecules, such as rotaviruses and breast cancer cells. Conjugation of the MNPs with antibodies (MNP-Abs enabled specific recognition of the corresponding target antigenic molecules through the generation of color signals arising from the colorimetric reaction between the selected peroxidase substrate, 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB and H2O2. Based on the MNP-promoted colorimetric reaction, the target molecules were detected and quantified by measuring absorbance intensities corresponding to the oxidized form of TMB. Owing to the higher stabilities and economic feasibilities of MNPs as compared to horseradish peroxidase (HRP, the new colorimetric system employing MNP-Abs has the potential of serving as a potent immunoassay that should substitute for conventional HRP-based immunoassays. The strategy employed to develop the new methodology has the potential of being extended to the construction of simple diagnostic systems for a variety of biomolecules related to human cancers and infectious diseases, particularly in the realm of point-of-care applications.

  7. A general approach to break the concentration barrier in single-molecule imaging

    KAUST Repository

    Loveland, Anna B.

    2012-09-09

    Single-molecule fluorescence imaging is often incompatible with physiological protein concentrations, as fluorescence background overwhelms an individual molecule\\'s signal. We solve this problem with a new imaging approach called PhADE (PhotoActivation, Diffusion and Excitation). A protein of interest is fused to a photoactivatable protein (mKikGR) and introduced to its surface-immobilized substrate. After photoactivation of mKikGR near the surface, rapid diffusion of the unbound mKikGR fusion out of the detection volume eliminates background fluorescence, whereupon the bound molecules are imaged. We labeled the eukaryotic DNA replication protein flap endonuclease 1 with mKikGR and added it to replication-competent Xenopus laevis egg extracts. PhADE imaging of high concentrations of the fusion construct revealed its dynamics and micrometer-scale movements on individual, replicating DNA molecules. Because PhADE imaging is in principle compatible with any photoactivatable fluorophore, it should have broad applicability in revealing single-molecule dynamics and stoichiometry of macromolecular protein complexes at previously inaccessible fluorophore concentrations. © 2012 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Toughening elastomers with sacrificial bonds and watching them break.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ducrot, Etienne; Chen, Yulan; Bulters, Markus; Sijbesma, Rint P; Creton, Costantino

    2014-04-11

    Elastomers are widely used because of their large-strain reversible deformability. Most unfilled elastomers suffer from a poor mechanical strength, which limits their use. Using sacrificial bonds, we show how brittle, unfilled elastomers can be strongly reinforced in stiffness and toughness (up to 4 megapascals and 9 kilojoules per square meter) by introducing a variable proportion of isotropically prestretched chains that can break and dissipate energy before the material fails. Chemoluminescent cross-linking molecules, which emit light as they break, map in real time where and when many of these internal bonds break ahead of a propagating crack. The simple methodology that we use to introduce sacrificial bonds, combined with the mapping of where bonds break, has the potential to stimulate the development of new classes of unfilled tough elastomers and better molecular models of the fracture of soft materials.

  9. Temporal correlations and structural memory effects in break junction measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magyarkuti, A.; Lauritzen, Kasper Primdal; Balogh, Zoltan Imre

    2017-01-01

    that correlations between the opening and subsequent closing traces may indicate structural memory effects in atomic-sized metallic and molecular junctions. Applying these methods on measured and simulated gold metallic contacts as a test system, we show that the surface diffusion induced flattening of the broken......-molecule junctions, we demonstrate pronounced contact memory effects and recovery of the molecule for junctions breaking before atomic chains are formed. However, if chains are pulled the random relaxation of the chain and molecule after rupture prevents opening-closing correlations....

  10. Alternative types of molecule-decorated atomic chains in Au–CO–Au single-molecule junctions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoltán Balogh

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the formation and evolution of Au–CO single-molecule break junctions. The conductance histogram exhibits two distinct molecular configurations, which are further investigated by a combined statistical analysis. According to conditional histogram and correlation analysis these molecular configurations show strong anticorrelations with each other and with pure Au monoatomic junctions and atomic chains. We identify molecular precursor configurations with somewhat higher conductance, which are formed prior to single-molecule junctions. According to detailed length analysis two distinct types of molecule-affected chain-formation processes are observed, and we compare these results to former theoretical calculations considering bridge- and atop-type molecular configurations where the latter has reduced conductance due to destructive Fano interference.

  11. A general approach to break the concentration barrier in single-molecule imaging

    KAUST Repository

    Loveland, Anna B.; Habuchi, Satoshi; Walter, Johannes C.; van Oijen, Antoine M.

    2012-01-01

    Single-molecule fluorescence imaging is often incompatible with physiological protein concentrations, as fluorescence background overwhelms an individual molecule's signal. We solve this problem with a new imaging approach called PhADE (Photo

  12. A scanning tunneling microscope break junction method with continuous bias modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beall, Edward; Yin, Xing; Waldeck, David H; Wierzbinski, Emil

    2015-09-28

    Single molecule conductance measurements on 1,8-octanedithiol were performed using the scanning tunneling microscope break junction method with an externally controlled modulation of the bias voltage. Application of an AC voltage is shown to improve the signal to noise ratio of low current (low conductance) measurements as compared to the DC bias method. The experimental results show that the current response of the molecule(s) trapped in the junction and the solvent media to the bias modulation can be qualitatively different. A model RC circuit which accommodates both the molecule and the solvent is proposed to analyze the data and extract a conductance for the molecule.

  13. Organic molecules with abnormal geometric parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komarov, Igor V

    2001-01-01

    Organic molecules, the structural parameters of which (carbon-carbon bond lengths, bond and torsion angles) differ appreciably from the typical most frequently encountered values, are discussed. Using many examples of 'record-breaking' molecules, the limits of structural distortions in carbon compounds and their unusual chemical properties are demonstrated. Particular attention is devoted to strained compounds not yet synthesised whose properties have been predicted using quantum-chemical calculations. Factors that ensure the stability of such compounds are outlined. The bibliography includes 358 references.

  14. Dynamic Colloidal Molecules Maneuvered by Light-Controlled Janus Micromotors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Yirong; Mou, Fangzhi; Feng, Yizheng; Che, Shengping; Li, Wei; Xu, Leilei; Guan, Jianguo

    2017-07-12

    In this work, we propose and demonstrate a dynamic colloidal molecule that is capable of moving autonomously and performing swift, reversible, and in-place assembly dissociation in a high accuracy by manipulating a TiO 2 /Pt Janus micromotor with light irradiation. Due to the efficient motion of the TiO 2 /Pt Janus motor and the light-switchable electrostatic interactions between the micromotor and colloidal particles, the colloidal particles can be captured and assembled one by one on the fly, subsequently forming into swimming colloidal molecules by mimicking space-filling models of simple molecules with central atoms. The as-demonstrated dynamic colloidal molecules have a configuration accurately controlled and stabilized by regulating the time-dependent intensity of UV light, which controls the stop-and-go motion of the colloidal molecules. The dynamic colloidal molecules are dissociated when the light irradiation is turned off due to the disappearance of light-switchable electrostatic interaction between the motor and the colloidal particles. The strategy for the assembly of dynamic colloidal molecules is applicable to various charged colloidal particles. The simulated optical properties of a dynamic colloidal molecule imply that the results here may provide a novel approach for in-place building functional microdevices, such as microlens arrays, in a swift and reversible manner.

  15. Single-Molecule Electronics: Chemical and Analytical Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Richard J; Higgins, Simon J

    2015-01-01

    It is now possible to measure the electrical properties of single molecules using a variety of techniques including scanning probe microcopies and mechanically controlled break junctions. Such measurements can be made across a wide range of environments including ambient conditions, organic liquids, ionic liquids, aqueous solutions, electrolytes, and ultra high vacuum. This has given new insights into charge transport across molecule electrical junctions, and these experimental methods have been complemented with increasingly sophisticated theory. This article reviews progress in single-molecule electronics from a chemical perspective and discusses topics such as the molecule-surface coupling in electrical junctions, chemical control, and supramolecular interactions in junctions and gating charge transport. The article concludes with an outlook regarding chemical analysis based on single-molecule conductance.

  16. The production and repair of double strand breaks in cells from normal humans and patients with ataxia telangiectasia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehman, A.R.; Stevens, S.

    1977-01-01

    The production and repair of double strand breaks induced by γ-rays in the DNA of human fibroblasts have been measured by sedimentation in sucrose gradients under non-denaturing conditions. Unirradiated DNA formed a rapidly sedimenting gel. Low doses of radiation released freely sedimenting DNA molecules from this gel. Higher doses reduced the rate of sedimentation of the free DNA due to the introduction of double strand breaks. The breakage efficiency was 1 break/1.3x10 10 daltons of DNA/krad. Postirradiation incubation after a high dose of radiation resulted in an increase in molecular weight of the free DNA molecules, and after a low dose the rapidly-sedimenting gel was reformed. These data suggest that double strand breaks are repaired in human fibroblasts. No significant differences were found between fibroblasts from two normal donors and four patients with the radiosensitive disorder, ataxia telangiectasia, in either the production or repair of double strand breaks

  17. Graphene symmetry-breaking with molecular adsorbates: modeling and experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groce, M. A.; Hawkins, M. K.; Wang, Y. L.; Cullen, W. G.; Einstein, T. L.

    2012-02-01

    Graphene's structure and electronic properties provide a framework for understanding molecule-substrate interactions and developing techniques for band gap engineering. Controlled deposition of molecular adsorbates can create superlattices which break the degeneracy of graphene's two-atom unit cell, opening a band gap. We simulate scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements for a variety of organic molecule/graphene systems, including pyridine, trimesic acid, and isonicotinic acid, based on density functional theory calculations using VASP. We also compare our simulations to ultra-high vacuum STM and STS results.

  18. Goldstone mode and pair-breaking excitations in atomic Fermi superfluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoinka, Sascha; Dyke, Paul; Lingham, Marcus G.; Kinnunen, Jami J.; Bruun, Georg M.; Vale, Chris J.

    2017-10-01

    Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a central paradigm of elementary particle physics, magnetism, superfluidity and superconductivity. According to Goldstone's theorem, phase transitions that break continuous symmetries lead to the existence of gapless excitations in the long-wavelength limit. These Goldstone modes can become the dominant low-energy excitation, showing that symmetry breaking has a profound impact on the physical properties of matter. Here, we present a comprehensive study of the elementary excitations in a homogeneous strongly interacting Fermi gas through the crossover from a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluid to a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of molecules using two-photon Bragg spectroscopy. The spectra exhibit a discrete Goldstone mode, associated with the broken-symmetry superfluid phase, as well as pair-breaking single-particle excitations. Our techniques yield a direct determination of the superfluid pairing gap and speed of sound in close agreement with strong-coupling theories.

  19. Spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in early molecular networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markovitch Omer

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background An important facet of early biological evolution is the selection of chiral enantiomers for molecules such as amino acids and sugars. The origin of this symmetry breaking is a long-standing question in molecular evolution. Previous models addressing this question include particular kinetic properties such as autocatalysis or negative cross catalysis. Results We propose here a more general kinetic formalism for early enantioselection, based on our previously described Graded Autocatalysis Replication Domain (GARD model for prebiotic evolution in molecular assemblies. This model is adapted here to the case of chiral molecules by applying symmetry constraints to mutual molecular recognition within the assembly. The ensuing dynamics shows spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, with transitions towards stationary compositional states (composomes enriched with one of the two enantiomers for some of the constituent molecule types. Furthermore, one or the other of the two antipodal compositional states of the assembly also shows time-dependent selection. Conclusion It follows that chiral selection may be an emergent consequence of early catalytic molecular networks rather than a prerequisite for the initiation of primeval life processes. Elaborations of this model could help explain the prevalent chiral homogeneity in present-day living cells. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Boris Rubinstein (nominated by Arcady Mushegian, Arcady Mushegian, Meir Lahav (nominated by Yitzhak Pilpel and Sergei Maslov.

  20. Electron transfer dynamics of bistable single-molecule junctions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danilov, A.V; Kubatkin, S.; Kafanov, S. G.

    2006-01-01

    We present transport measurements of single-molecule junctions bridged by a molecule with three benzene rings connected by two double bonds and with thiol end-groups that allow chemical binding to gold electrodes. The I-V curves show switching behavior between two distinct states. By statistical ...... analysis of the switching events, we show that a 300 meV mode mediates the transition between the two states. We propose that breaking and reformation of a S-H bond in the contact zone between molecule and electrode explains the observed bistability....

  1. Gastric Adenomyoma: The Unexpected Mimicker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcela Adriana Duran Álvarez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Gastric adenomyoma is a rare benign tumor composed of epithelial structures and smooth muscle stroma. Here, we report an unusual case of gastric adenomyoma mostly composed of smooth muscle that was incidentally found during a laparoscopic intervention. On radiology, it mimicked an acquired hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in an adult patient, and pathologically it resembled a pure smooth muscle hamartoma. Complete submission of the lesion for histology was necessary to find the epithelial component and make the right diagnosis. As a mimicker of benign and malignant entities, gastric adenomyoma is usually an unexpected finding after surgery. The aim of this report is to analyze this adenomyoma variant in the setting of an unexplained thickening of the gastric wall, with explanations concerning histogenesis and biological potential.

  2. Probing the local environment of a single OPE3 molecule using inelastic tunneling electron spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frisenda, R.; Perrin, M.L.; Van der Zant, H.S.J.

    2015-01-01

    We study single-molecule oligo(phenylene ethynylene)dithiol junctions by means of inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS). The molecule is contacted with gold nano-electrodes formed with the mechanically controllable break junction technique. We record the IETS spectrum of the molecule from

  3. Linker-dependent Junction Formation Probability in Single-Molecule Junctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoo, Pil Sun; Kim, Taekyeong [HankukUniversity of Foreign Studies, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-01-15

    We compare the junction formation probabilities of single-molecule junctions with different linker molecules by using a scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique. We found that the junction formation probability varies as SH > SMe > NH2 for the benzene backbone molecule with different types of anchoring groups, through quantitative statistical analysis. These results are attributed to different bonding forces according to the linker groups formed with Au atoms in the electrodes, which is consistent with previous works. Our work allows a better understanding of the contact chemistry in the metal.molecule junction for future molecular electronic devices.

  4. Targeting of ECM molecules and their metabolizing enzymes and receptors for the treatment of CNS diseases

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berezin, Vladimir; Walmod, Peter Schledermann; Filippov, Mikhail

    2014-01-01

    Extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, their receptors at the cell surface, and cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) involved in cell-cell or cell-ECM interactions are implicated in processes related to major diseases of the central nervous system including Alzheimer's disease (AD), epilepsy......, schizophrenia, addiction, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and cancer. There are multiple strategies for targeting the ECM molecules and their metabolizing enzymes and receptors with antibodies, peptides, glycosaminoglycans, and other natural and synthetic compounds. ECM-targeting treatments include...... chondroitinase ABC, heparin/heparan sulfate-mimicking oligosaccharides, ECM cross-linking antibodies, and drugs stimulating expression of ECM molecules. The amount or activity of ECM-degrading enzymes like matrix metalloproteinases can be modulated indirectly via the regulation of endogenous inhibitors like...

  5. Polymerization of a divalent/tetravalent metal-storing atom-mimicking dendrimer

    OpenAIRE

    Albrecht, Ken; Hirabayashi, Yuki; Otake, Masaya; Mendori, Shin; Tobari, Yuta; Azuma, Yasuo; Majima, Yutaka; Yamamoto, Kimihisa

    2016-01-01

    The phenylazomethine dendrimer (DPA) has a layer-by-layer electron density gradient that is an analog of the Bohr atom (atom mimicry). In combination with electron pair mimicry, the polymerization of this atom-mimicking dendrimer was achieved. The valency of the mimicked atom was controlled by changing the chemical structure of the dendrimer. By mimicking a divalent atom, a one-dimensional (1D) polymer was obtained, and by using a planar tetravalent atom mimic, a 2D polymer was obtained. Thes...

  6. Multicystic Hepatocarcinoma Mimicking Liver Abscess

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evangelos Falidas

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC became easier in relation to the improved radiological examinations; however, the neoplasm may occur under atypical presentations mimicking other benign or malignant processes. Multicystic HCC mimicking a liver abscess associated with septic-type fever and leukocytosis is rare, has a poor prognosis, and poses diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. We present the case of an 80-year-old patient, who presented with fever, leukocytosis, and large cystic masses involving right and left lobes of the liver initially considered abscesses and finally diagnosed as HCC after open drainage and liver biopsy. Although the patient died on the tenth postoperative day due to pulmonary oedema, the authors emphasize the high index of suspicion needed in the diagnosis of this unusual presentation of HCC.

  7. Mammalian DNA single-strand break repair: an X-ra(y)ted affair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldecott, K W

    2001-05-01

    The genetic stability of living cells is continuously threatened by the presence of endogenous reactive oxygen species and other genotoxic molecules. Of particular threat are the thousands of DNA single-strand breaks that arise in each cell, each day, both directly from disintegration of damaged sugars and indirectly from the excision repair of damaged bases. If un-repaired, single-strand breaks can be converted into double-strand breaks during DNA replication, potentially resulting in chromosomal rearrangement and genetic deletion. Consequently, cells have adopted multiple pathways to ensure the rapid and efficient removal of single-strand breaks. A general feature of these pathways appears to be the extensive employment of protein-protein interactions to stimulate both the individual component steps and the overall repair reaction. Our current understanding of DNA single-strand break repair is discussed, and testable models for the architectural coordination of this important process are presented. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  8. The synthesis and biological evaluation of integrin receptor targeting molecules as potential radiopharmaceuticals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pellegrini, Paul

    This thesis reports on the synthesis, characterisation and biological evaluation of a number of metal complexes designed to interact with the alphavbeta3 integrin receptor, an important biological target that is heavily involved in angiogenesis, and thus cancer related processes. Two approaches were used to synthesise the integrin-avid targets. The first was to attach a variety of bifunctional chelators (BFC's) for the incorporation of different metal centres to a known integrin antagonist, L-748,415, developed by Merck. The BFC's used were the hydrazinonicotinamide (HYNIC) and monoamine monoamide dithiol (MAMA) systems for coordination to Tc-99m and rhenium of which was used as a characterization surrogate for the unstable Tc core. The 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclotridecanetetraacetic acid (TRITA) BFC was attached for the inclusion of copper and lutetium. This 'conjugate' approach was designed to yield information on how the BFC and the linker length would affect the affinity for the integrin receptor. The second approach was an 'integrated' method where the chelation moiety was integral to the biologically relevant part of the molecule, which in the case of the alphavbeta3 integrin receptor, is the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) mimicking sequence. Two complexes were created with a modified MAMA derivative placed between a benzimidazole moiety (arginine mimick) and the aspartic acid mimicking terminal carboxylic acid to see how it would affect binding while keeping the molecular weight relatively low. The molecules were tested in vitro against purified human alphavbeta3 integrin receptor protein in a solid phase receptor binding assay to evaluate their inhibition constants against a molecule of known high affinity and selectivity in [I125]L-775,219, the I125 labelled alphavbeta3 integrin antagonist. The radiolabelled analogues were also tested in vivo against the A375 human melanoma cell line transplanted into balb/c nude mice as well as Fischer rats implanted

  9. Evaluation of the Kinetic Property of Single-Molecule Junctions by Tunneling Current Measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harashima, Takanori; Hasegawa, Yusuke; Kiguchi, Manabu; Nishino, Tomoaki

    2018-01-01

    We investigated the formation and breaking of single-molecule junctions of two kinds of dithiol molecules by time-resolved tunneling current measurements in a metal nanogap. The resulting current trajectory was statistically analyzed to determine the single-molecule conductance and, more importantly, to reveal the kinetic property of the single-molecular junction. These results suggested that combining a measurement of the single-molecule conductance and statistical analysis is a promising method to uncover the kinetic properties of the single-molecule junction.

  10. Breaks induced in the deoxyribonucleic acid of aerosolized Escherichia coli by ozonized cyclohexene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Mik, G; De Groot, I

    1978-01-01

    The inactivation of aerosolized Escherichia coli by ozone, cyclohexene, and ozonized cyclohexene was studied. The parameters for damage were loss of reproduction and introduction of breaks in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Aerosolization of E. coli in clean air at 80 percent relative humidity or in air containing either ozone or cyclohexene hardly affected survival; however, some breaks per DNA molecule were induced, as shown by sucrose gradient sedimentation of the DNA. Aerosolization of E. coli in air containing ozonized cyclohexene at 80 percent relative humidity decreased the survival by a factor of 10(3) or more after 1 h of exposure and induced many breaks in the DNA. PMID:341811

  11. Clear cell carcinoma of the ovary mimicking struma ovarii and carcinoid tumor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alduaij, Ahmad; Quddus, M Ruhul

    2011-04-01

    Clear cell carcinomas are considered as high-grade tumor often with poor prognosis. We describe 2 cases of clear cell carcinomas of the ovary mimicking benign or less aggressive tumors encountered in the female genital track. The first case is mimicking a benign monodermal teratoma, the so-called struma ovarii, and the second mimicking a carcinoid tumor. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Consistency of Trend Break Point Estimator with Underspecified Break Number

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingjing Yang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the consistency of trend break point estimators when the number of breaks is underspecified. The consistency of break point estimators in a simple location model with level shifts has been well documented by researchers under various settings, including extensions such as allowing a time trend in the model. Despite the consistency of break point estimators of level shifts, there are few papers on the consistency of trend shift break point estimators in the presence of an underspecified break number. The simulation study and asymptotic analysis in this paper show that the trend shift break point estimator does not converge to the true break points when the break number is underspecified. In the case of two trend shifts, the inconsistency problem worsens if the magnitudes of the breaks are similar and the breaks are either both positive or both negative. The limiting distribution for the trend break point estimator is developed and closely approximates the finite sample performance.

  13. Single-Molecule Nanomagnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Jonathan R.; Sarachik, Myriam P.

    2010-04-01

    Single-molecule magnets straddle the classical and quantum mechanical worlds, displaying many fascinating phenomena. They may have important technological applications in information storage and quantum computation. We review the physical properties of two prototypical molecular nanomagnets, Mn12-acetate and Fe8: Each behaves as a rigid, spin-10 object and exhibits tunneling between up and down directions. As temperature is lowered, the spin-reversal process evolves from thermal activation to pure quantum tunneling. At low temperatures, magnetic avalanches occur in which the magnetization of an entire sample rapidly reverses. We discuss the important role that symmetry-breaking fields play in driving tunneling and in producing Berry-phase interference. Recent experimental advances indicate that quantum coherence can be maintained on timescales sufficient to allow a meaningful number of quantum computing operations to be performed. Efforts are under way to create monolayers and to address and manipulate individual molecules.

  14. Breaking Symmetry in Time-Dependent Electronic Structure Theory to Describe Spectroscopic Properties of Non-Collinear and Chiral Molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goings, Joshua James

    Time-dependent electronic structure theory has the power to predict and probe the ways electron dynamics leads to useful phenomena and spectroscopic data. Here we report several advances and extensions of broken-symmetry time-dependent electronic structure theory in order to capture the flexibility required to describe non-equilibrium spin dynamics, as well as electron dynamics for chiroptical properties and vibrational effects. In the first half, we begin by discussing the generalization of self-consistent field methods to the so-called two-component structure in order to capture non-collinear spin states. This means that individual electrons are allowed to take a superposition of spin-1/2 projection states, instead of being constrained to either spin-up or spin-down. The system is no longer a spin eigenfunction, and is known a a spin-symmetry broken wave function. This flexibility to break spin symmetry may lead to variational instabilities in the approximate wave function, and we discuss how these may be overcome. With a stable non-collinear wave function in hand, we then discuss how to obtain electronic excited states from the non-collinear reference, along with associated challenges in their physical interpretation. Finally, we extend the two-component methods to relativistic Hamiltonians, which is the proper setting for describing spin-orbit driven phenomena. We describe the first implementation of the explicit time propagation of relativistic two-component methods and how this may be used to capture spin-forbidden states in electronic absorption spectra. In the second half, we describe the extension of explicitly time-propagated wave functions to the simulation of chiroptical properties, namely circular dichroism (CD) spectra of chiral molecules. Natural circular dichroism, that is, CD in the absence of magnetic fields, originates in the broken parity symmetry of chiral molecules. This proves to be an efficient method for computing circular dichroism spectra

  15. Single-strand breaks in supercoiled DNA induced by vacuum-UV radiation in aqueous solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takakura, Kaoru; Ishikawa, Mitsuo; Hieda, Kotaro; Kobayashi, Katsumi; Ito, Atsushi; Ito, Takashi

    1986-09-01

    The induction of single-strand breaks in the DNA of plasmid pBR 322 by vacuum-UV radiation above 145 nm in aqueous solutions was studied in relation to the production of OH-radicals in water. The similarity and dissimilarity were examined on the wavelength dependence between the two effects. The maximum of single strand breaks at 150 nm could be explained by the action of OH-radicals derived from direct water photolysis: the maximum at 180 nm remains unexplained. There was no indication that the direct absorption of photon by the DNA molecule plays an important role in the production of single-strand breaks.

  16. Single-strand breaks in supercoiled DNA induced by vacuum-UV radiation in aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takakura, Kaoru; Ishikawa, Mitsuo; Hieda, Kotaro; Kobayashi, Katsumi; Ito, Atsushi; Ito, Takashi

    1986-01-01

    The induction of single-strand breaks in the DNA of plasmid pBR 322 by vacuum-UV radiation above 145 nm in aqueous solutions was studied in relation to the production of OH-radicals in water. The similarity and dissimilarity were examined on the wavelength dependence between the two effects. The maximum of single strand breaks at 150 nm could be explained by the action of OH-radicals derived from direct water photolysis: the maximum at 180 nm remains unexplained. There was no indication that the direct absorption of photon by the DNA molecule plays an important role in the production of single-strand breaks. (author)

  17. Unification of SUSY breaking and GUT breaking

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kobayashi, Tatsuo [Department of Physics, Hokkaido University,Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan); Omura, Yuji [Department of Physics, Nagoya University,Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan)

    2015-02-18

    We build explicit supersymmetric unification models where grand unified gauge symmetry breaking and supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking are caused by the same sector. Besides, the SM-charged particles are also predicted by the symmetry breaking sector, and they give the soft SUSY breaking terms through the so-called gauge mediation. We investigate the mass spectrums in an explicit model with SU(5) and additional gauge groups, and discuss its phenomenological aspects. Especially, nonzero A-term and B-term are generated at one-loop level according to the mediation via the vector superfields, so that the electro-weak symmetry breaking and 125 GeV Higgs mass may be achieved by the large B-term and A-term even if the stop mass is around 1 TeV.

  18. A single-molecule diode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elbing, Mark; Ochs, Rolf; Koentopp, Max; Fischer, Matthias; von Hänisch, Carsten; Weigend, Florian; Evers, Ferdinand; Weber, Heiko B.; Mayor, Marcel

    2005-06-01

    We have designed and synthesized a molecular rod that consists of two weakly coupled electronic π -systems with mutually shifted energy levels. The asymmetry thus implied manifests itself in a current-voltage characteristic with pronounced dependence on the sign of the bias voltage, which makes the molecule a prototype for a molecular diode. The individual molecules were immobilized by sulfur-gold bonds between both electrodes of a mechanically controlled break junction, and their electronic transport properties have been investigated. The results indeed show diode-like current-voltage characteristics. In contrast to that, control experiments with symmetric molecular rods consisting of two identical π -systems did not show significant asymmetries in the transport properties. To investigate the underlying transport mechanism, phenomenological arguments are combined with calculations based on density functional theory. The theoretical analysis suggests that the bias dependence of the polarizability of the molecule feeds back into the current leading to an asymmetric shape of the current-voltage characteristics, similar to the phenomena in a semiconductor diode. Author contributions: F.E., H.B.W., and M.M. designed research; M.E., R.O., M.K., M.F., F.E., H.B.W., and M.M. performed research; M.E., R.O., M.K., M.F., C.v.H., F.W., F.E., H.B.W., and M.M. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; M.E., R.O., M.K., C.v.H., F.E., H.B.W., and M.M. analyzed data; and F.E., H.B.W., and M.M. wrote the paper.This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.Abbreviations: A, acceptor; D, donor; MCB, mechanically controlled break junction.Data deposition: The atomic coordinates have been deposited in the Cambridge Structural Database, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, Cambridge CB2 1EZ, United Kingdom (CSD reference no. 241632).

  19. Tissue mimicking materials for a multi-imaging modality prostate phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D'Souza, Warren D.; Madsen, Ernest L.; Unal, Orhan; Vigen, Karl K.; Frank, Gary R.; Thomadsen, Bruce R.

    2001-01-01

    Materials that simultaneously mimic soft tissue in vivo for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US), and computed tomography (CT) for use in a prostate phantom have been developed. Prostate and muscle mimicking materials contain water, agarose, lipid particles, protein, Cu ++ , EDTA, glass beads, and thimerosal (preservative). Fat was mimicked with safflower oil suffusing a random mesh (network) of polyurethane. Phantom material properties were measured at 22 deg. C. (22 deg. C is a typical room temperature at which phantoms are used.) The values of material properties should match, as well as possible, the values for tissues at body temperature, 37 deg. C. For MRI, the primary properties of interest are T1 and T2 relaxations times, for US they are the attenuation coefficient, propagation speed, and backscatter, and for CT, the x-ray attenuation. Considering the large number of parameters to be mimicked, rather good agreement was found with actual tissue values obtained from the literature. Using published values for prostate parenchyma, T1 and T2 at 37 deg. C and 40 MHz are estimated to be about 1100 and 98 ms, respectively. The CT number for in vivo prostate is estimated to be 45 HU (Hounsfield units). The prostate mimicking material has a T1 of 937 ms and a T2 of 88 ms at 22 deg. C and 40 MHz; the propagation speed and attenuation coefficient slope are 1540 m/s and 0.36 dB/cm/MHz, respectively, and the CT number of tissue mimicking prostate is 43 HU. Tissue mimicking (TM) muscle differs from TM prostate in the amount of dry weight agarose, Cu ++ , EDTA, and the quality and quantity of glass beads. The 18 μm glass beads used in TM muscle increase US backscatter and US attenuation; the presence of the beads also has some effect on T1 but no effect on T2. The composition of tissue-mimicking materials developed is such that different versions can be placed in direct contact with one another in a phantom with no long term change in US, MRI, or CT

  20. A single-molecule diode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elbing, Mark; Ochs, Rolf; Koentopp, Max; Fischer, Matthias; von Hänisch, Carsten; Weigend, Florian; Evers, Ferdinand; Weber, Heiko B.; Mayor, Marcel

    2005-01-01

    We have designed and synthesized a molecular rod that consists of two weakly coupled electronic π -systems with mutually shifted energy levels. The asymmetry thus implied manifests itself in a current–voltage characteristic with pronounced dependence on the sign of the bias voltage, which makes the molecule a prototype for a molecular diode. The individual molecules were immobilized by sulfur–gold bonds between both electrodes of a mechanically controlled break junction, and their electronic transport properties have been investigated. The results indeed show diode-like current–voltage characteristics. In contrast to that, control experiments with symmetric molecular rods consisting of two identical π -systems did not show significant asymmetries in the transport properties. To investigate the underlying transport mechanism, phenomenological arguments are combined with calculations based on density functional theory. The theoretical analysis suggests that the bias dependence of the polarizability of the molecule feeds back into the current leading to an asymmetric shape of the current–voltage characteristics, similar to the phenomena in a semiconductor diode. PMID:15956208

  1. Insulator-protected mechanically controlled break junctions for measuring single-molecule conductance in aqueous environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muthusubramanian, N.; Galan, E.; Maity, C.; Eelkema, R.; Grozema, F.C.; van der Zant, H.S.J.

    2016-01-01

    We present a method to fabricate insulated gold mechanically controlled break junctions (MCBJ) by coating the metal with a thin layer of aluminum oxide using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition. The Al2O3 thickness deposited on the MCBJ devices was varied from 2 to 15 nm

  2. Quantum interference effects at room temperature in OPV-based single-molecule junctions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arroyo, Carlos R.; Frisenda, Riccardo; Moth-Poulsen, Kasper

    2013-01-01

    Interference effects on charge transport through an individual molecule can lead to a notable modulation and suppression on its conductance. In this letter, we report the observation of quantum interference effects occurring at room temperature in single-molecule junctions based on oligo(3......)-phenylenevinylene (OPV3) derivatives, in which the central benzene ring is coupled to either para- or meta-positions. Using the break-junction technique, we find that the conductance for a single meta-OPV3 molecule wired between gold electrodes is one order of magnitude smaller than that of a para-OPV3 molecule...

  3. A novel technique using DNA denaturation to detect multiply induced single-strand breaks in a hydrated plasmid DNA molecule by X-ray and 4He2+ ion irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yokoya, A.; Shikazono, N.; Fujii, K.; Noguchi, M.; Urushibara, A.

    2011-01-01

    To detect multiple single-strand breaks (SSBs) produced in plasmid DNA molecules by direct energy deposition from radiation tracks, we have developed a novel technique using DNA denaturation by which irradiated DNA is analysed as single-strand DNA (SS-DNA). The multiple SSBs that arise in both strands of DNA, but do not induce a double-strand break, are quantified as loss of SS-DNA using agarose gel electrophoresis. We have applied this method to X-ray and 4 He 2+ ion-irradiated samples of fully hydrated pUC18 plasmid DNA. The fractions of both SS-DNA and closed circular DNA (CC-DNA) exponentially decrease with the increasing dose of X rays and 4 He 2+ ions. The efficiency of the loss of SS-DNA was half that of CC-DNA for both types of irradiation, indicating that one of two strands in DNA is not broken when one SSB is produced in CC-DNA by irradiation. Contrary to our initial expectation, these results indicate that SSBs are not multiply induced even by high linear energy transfer radiation distributed in both strands. (authors)

  4. Vibrations of a molecule in an external force field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okabayashi, Norio; Peronio, Angelo; Paulsson, Magnus; Arai, Toyoko; Giessibl, Franz J

    2018-05-01

    The oscillation frequencies of a molecule on a surface are determined by the mass distribution in the molecule and the restoring forces that occur when the molecule bends. The restoring force originates from the atomic-scale interaction within the molecule and with the surface, which plays an essential role in the dynamics and reactivity of the molecule. In 1998, a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy with inelastic tunneling spectroscopy revealed the vibrational frequencies of single molecules adsorbed on a surface. However, the probe tip itself exerts forces on the molecule, changing its oscillation frequencies. Here, we combine atomic force microscopy with inelastic tunneling spectroscopy and measure the influence of the forces exerted by the tip on the lateral vibrational modes of a carbon monoxide molecule on a copper surface. Comparing the experimental data to a mechanical model of the vibrating molecule shows that the bonds within the molecule and with the surface are weakened by the proximity of the tip. This combination of techniques can be applied to analyze complex molecular vibrations and the mechanics of forming and loosening chemical bonds, as well as to study the mechanics of bond breaking in chemical reactions and atomic manipulation.

  5. Invasive Aspergillosis Mimicking Metastatic Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michiel J. E. G. W. Vanfleteren

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available In a patient with a medical history of cancer, the most probable diagnosis of an 18FDG-avid pulmonary mass combined with intracranial abnormalities on brain imaging is metastasized cancer. However, sometimes a differential diagnosis with an infectious cause such as aspergillosis can be very challenging as both cancer and infection are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Pulmonary aspergillosis can present as an infectious pseudotumour with clinical and imaging characteristics mimicking lung cancer. Even in the presence of cerebral lesions, radiological appearance of abscesses can look like brain metastasis. These similarities can cause significant diagnostic difficulties with a subsequent therapeutic delay and a potential adverse outcome. Awareness of this infectious disease that can mimic lung cancer, even in an immunocompetent patient, is important. We report a case of a 65-year-old woman with pulmonary aspergillosis disseminated to the brain mimicking metastatic lung cancer.

  6. Estimating single molecule conductance from spontaneous evolution of a molecular contact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, M.; Malinowski, T.; Iazykov, M.; Klein, H. R.

    2018-03-01

    We present an original method to estimate the conductivity of a single molecule anchored to nanometric-sized metallic electrodes, using a Mechanically Controlled Break Junction operated at room temperature in the liquid. We record the conductance through the metal/molecules/metal nanocontact while keeping the metallic electrodes at a fixed distance. Taking advantage of thermal diffusion and electromigration, we let the contact naturally explore the more stable configurations around a chosen conductance value. The conductance of a single molecule is estimated from a statistical analysis of raw conductance and conductance standard deviation data for molecular contacts containing up to 14 molecules. The single molecule conductance values are interpreted as time-averaged conductance of an ensemble of conformers at thermal equilibrium.

  7. A Comparative Analysis of Ability of Mimicking Portfolios in Representing the Background Factors

    OpenAIRE

    Asgharian, Hossein

    2004-01-01

    Our aim is to give a comparative analysis of ability of different factor mimicking portfolios in representing the background factors. Our analysis contains a cross-sectional regression approach, a time-series regression approach and a portfolio approach for constructing factor mimicking portfolios. The focus of the analysis is the power of mimicking portfolios in the asset pricing models. We conclude that the time series regression approach, with the book-to-market sorted portfolios as the ba...

  8. Comparison of the electrophoretic method with the sedimentation method for the analysis of DNA strand breaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamoto, Osamu; Ogawa, Masaaki; Hoshi, Masaharu

    1982-01-01

    Application of electrophoresis to the analysis of DNA strand breaks was studied comparing with the sedimentation analysis. A BRL gel electrophoresis system (Type V16) was used for this study. Calf thymus DNA (1 mg/ml) irradiated with 60 Co gamma-rays in SSC solution was applied to both the electrophoretic analysis and the sedimentation analysis. Lamda phage DNA and its fragments were employed as the standard size molecules. In a range from 1 k base pairs to 6 k base pairs in length for double stranded DNA or from 2 k bases to 12 k bases for single stranded DNA, the calculated average molecular weight from the electrophoresis coincided with that from the sedimentation. Number of single strand breaks and double strand breaks were 1.34 x 10 11 breaks/mg/rad (G = 0.215) and 0.48 x 10 5 breaks/mg/rad 2 , respectively. (author)

  9. Directional rolling of positively charged nanoparticles along a flexibility gradient on long DNA molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Suehyun; Joo, Heesun; Kim, Jun Soo

    2018-01-31

    Directing the motion of molecules/colloids in any specific direction is of great interest in many applications of chemistry, physics, and biological sciences, where regulated positioning or transportation of materials is highly desired. Using Brownian dynamics simulations of coarse-grained models of a long, double-stranded DNA molecule and positively charged nanoparticles, we observed that the motion of a single nanoparticle bound to and wrapped by the DNA molecule can be directed along a gradient of DNA local flexibility. The flexibility gradient is constructed along a 0.8 kilobase-pair DNA molecule such that local persistence length decreases gradually from 50 nm to 40 nm, mimicking a gradual change in sequence-dependent flexibility. Nanoparticles roll over a long DNA molecule from less flexible regions towards more flexible ones as a result of the decreasing energetic cost of DNA bending and wrapping. In addition, the rolling becomes slightly accelerated as the positive charge of nanoparticles decreases due to a lower free energy barrier of DNA detachment from charged nanoparticle for processive rolling. This study suggests that the variation in DNA local flexibility can be utilized in constructing and manipulating supramolecular assemblies of DNA molecules and nanoparticles in structural DNA nanotechnology.

  10. Electrical properties and mechanical stability of anchoring groups for single-molecule electronics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riccardo Frisenda

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available We report on an experimental investigation of transport through single molecules, trapped between two gold nano-electrodes fabricated with the mechanically controlled break junction (MCBJ technique. The four molecules studied share the same core structure, namely oligo(phenylene ethynylene (OPE3, while having different aurophilic anchoring groups: thiol (SAc, methyl sulfide (SMe, pyridyl (Py and amine (NH2. The focus of this paper is on the combined characterization of the electrical and mechanical properties determined by the anchoring groups. From conductance histograms we find that thiol anchored molecules provide the highest conductance; a single-level model fit to current–voltage characteristics suggests that SAc groups exhibit a higher electronic coupling to the electrodes, together with better level alignment than the other three groups. An analysis of the mechanical stability, recording the lifetime in a self-breaking method, shows that Py and SAc yield the most stable junctions while SMe form short-lived junctions. Density functional theory combined with non-equlibrium Green’s function calculations help in elucidating the experimental findings.

  11. Radiation induced strand breaks and time scale for repair of broken strands in superinfecting phage lambda DNA in Escherichia coli lysogenic for lambda

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansen, I.; Boye, E.; Brustad, T.

    1975-01-01

    The production of the first radiation induced break in covalent lambda DNA molecules in pol + and pol A 1 lysogenic host cells was measured after exposure to electrons from a linear accelerator and transfer to alkaline detergent within 100 ms from the onset of irradiation. The results revealed the presence of an oxygen effect in DNA strand breakage. In both pol + and pol A 1 host cells the rate of production in nitrogen was 1.2x10 -12 DNA single strand breaks per rad per dalton as compared to 5x10 -12 in oxygen. The yields of strand breaks in lambda DNA in pol + host cells under oxygenated or anoxic conditions are independent of whether the cells are irradiated in buffer at room temperature, in buffer at ice temperature, or in growth medium at 37 0 C. These results indicate that enzymic repair of DNA strand breaks before analysis is insignificant in these experiments. The presence of an oxygen effect in DNA strand breakage under these conditions suggest that an actual difference exists between initial number of breaks produced in nitrogen and in oxygen. The kinetics of rejoining of broken molecules under optimal growth conditions was measured by incubating the irradiated host cells prior to lysis. In pol + host cells 50% of the lambda DNA molecules broken in presence of oxygen are rejoined within 10 to 20 seconds of incubation. A significantly lower recovery is seen in pol + host cells after irradiation in nitrogen. The rejoining of broken lambda DNA strands in pol A 1 host cells is impaired after irradiation in presence of oxygen as well as under anoxia. These results show that DNA polymerase I is needed for the rapid rejoining of radiation induced strand breaks in the DNA, and that oxygen promoted strand breaks are more easily rejoined than are those produced in nitrogen. (author)

  12. Small break loss of coolant accidents: Bottom and side break

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hardy, P.G.; Richter, H.J.

    1987-01-01

    A LOCA can be caused, e.g. by a small break in the primary cooling system. The rate of fluid escaping through such a break will define the time until the core will be uncovered. Therefore the prediction of fluid loss and pressure transient is of major importance to plan for timely action in response to such an event. Stratification of the two phases might be present upstream of the break, thus, the location of the break relative to the vapor-liquid interface and the overall upstream fluid conditions are relevant for the calculation of fluid loss. Experimental results and analyses are presented here for small breaks at the bottom or at the side of a small pressure vessel. It was found that in such a case the onset of the so-called ''vapor pull through'' is important but swelling at sufficient depressurization rates of the liquid due to flashing is also of significance. It was also discovered that in the bottom break the flow rate is strongly dependent on the break entrance quality of the vapour-liquid mixture. The side break can be treated similarly to the bottom break if the interface level is above the break. The analyses developed on the basis of experimental observations showed reasonable agreement of predicted and measured pressure transients. It was possible to calculate the changing interface level and mixture void fraction history in a way compatible with the behavior observed during the experiments. Even though the experiments were performed at low pressures, this work should help to get a better understanding of physical phenomena occurring in a full scale small break LOCA. (orig./HP)

  13. Chemical Principles and Interference in the Electrical Conductance of Single Molecules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borges, Anders Christian

    , the conductance of molecules can vary orders of magnitude and the concept of interference is believed to play a major role in this. This thesis investigates the links between single molecule conductance, chemistry and interference effects in short organic molecules. It is investigated to which extent...... the conductance can be understood in terms of separate contributions and when the effects of interference are important. Links between chemical principles and constructive- and destructive interference effects are demonstrated using a combination of simple models, atomistic calculations and Scanning......-Tunneling Microscope Break-Junction experiments (STM-BJ). It is demonstrated that these links can be used to design molecules exhibiting surprising interference effects and to interpret and predict the trends in the characteristic conductance of single molecules without resorting to numerical computational methods...

  14. Tunneling Ionization of Diatomic Molecules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensmark, Jens Søren Sieg

    2016-01-01

    When a molecule is subject to a strong laser field, there is a probability that an electron can escape, even though the electrons are bound by a large potential barrier. This is possible because electrons are quantum mechanical in nature, and they are therefore able to tunnel through potential...... barriers, an ability classical particles do not possess. Tunnelling is a fundamental quantum mechanical process, a process that is distinctly non-classical, so solving this tunnelling problem is not only relevant for molecular physics, but also for quantum theory in general. In this dissertation the theory...... of tunneling ionizaion of molecules is presented and the results of numerical calculations are shown. One perhaps surprising result is, that the frequently used Born-Oppenheimer approximation breaks down for weak fields when describing tunneling ionization. An analytic theory applicable in the weak-field limit...

  15. Give me a better break: Choosing workday break activities to maximize resource recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Emily M; Wu, Cindy

    2016-02-01

    Surprisingly little research investigates employee breaks at work, and even less research provides prescriptive suggestions for better workday breaks in terms of when, where, and how break activities are most beneficial. Based on the effort-recovery model and using experience sampling methodology, we examined the characteristics of employee workday breaks with 95 employees across 5 workdays. In addition, we examined resources as a mediator between break characteristics and well-being. Multilevel analysis results indicated that activities that were preferred and earlier in the work shift related to more resource recovery following the break. We also found that resources mediated the influence of preferred break activities and time of break on health symptoms and that resource recovery benefited person-level outcomes of emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior. Finally, break length interacted with the number of breaks per day such that longer breaks and frequent short breaks were associated with more resources than infrequent short breaks. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Breaking Immunological Tolerance through OX40 (CD134

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pratima Bansal-Pakala

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Immunological tolerance represents a mechanism by which cells of the host remain protected from the immune system. Breaking of immunological tolerance can result in a variety of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. The reasons for tolerance breaking down and autoimmune processes arising are largely unknown but of obvious interest for therapeutic intervention of these diseases. Although reversal of the tolerant state is generally unwanted, there are instances where this may be of benefit to the host. In particular, one way a cancerous cell escapes being targeted by the immune system is through tolerance mechanisms that in effect turn off the reactivity of T lymphocytes that can respond to tumor-associated peptides. Thus tolerance represents a major obstacle in developing effective immunotherapy against tumors. The molecules that are involved in regulating immunological tolerance are then of interest as they may be great targets for positively or negatively manipulating the tolerance process.

  17. Leiomyoma of the distal oesophagus mimicking achalasia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Idenburg, F. J.; Akkermans, L. M.; Smout, A. J.; Kooijman, C. D.; Obertop, H.

    1991-01-01

    An unusual case of a patient with symptoms suggestive of oesophageal achalasia is described. Most oesophageal tumour growths causing secondary achalasia are associated with malignant tumours. This patient had a large oesophageal leiomyoma closely mimicking achalasia. Treatment consisted of

  18. A statistical approach to inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy on fullerene-terminated molecules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fock, Jeppe; Sørensen, Jakob Kryger; Lörtscher, Emanuel

    2011-01-01

    We report on the vibrational fingerprint of single C(60) terminated molecules in a mechanically controlled break junction (MCBJ) setup using a novel statistical approach manipulating the junction mechanically to address different molecular configurations and to monitor the corresponding vibration...

  19. Breaking Bat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar, Isaac-Cesar; Kagan, David

    2013-01-01

    The sight of a broken bat in Major League Baseball can produce anything from a humorous dribbler in the infield to a frightening pointed projectile headed for the stands. Bats usually break at the weakest point, typically in the handle. Breaking happens because the wood gets bent beyond the breaking point due to the wave sent down the bat created…

  20. Mimicking Seawater For Culturing Marine Bacteria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rygaard, Anita Mac; Sonnenschein, Eva; Gram, Lone

    2015-01-01

    Only about 1% of marine bacteria have been brought into culture using traditional techniques. The purpose of this study was to investigate if mimicking the natural bacterial environment can increase culturability.We used marine substrates containing defined algal polymers or gellan gum as solidif......Only about 1% of marine bacteria have been brought into culture using traditional techniques. The purpose of this study was to investigate if mimicking the natural bacterial environment can increase culturability.We used marine substrates containing defined algal polymers or gellan gum...... as solidifying agents, and enumerated bacteria from seawater and algal exudates. We tested if culturability could be influenced by addition of quorum sensing signals (AHLs). All plates were incubated at 15°C. Bacterial counts (CFU/g) from algal exudates from brown algae were highest on media containing algal...... polymers. In general, bacteria isolated from algal exudates preferred more rich media than bacteria isolated from seawater. Overall, culturability ranged from 0.01 to 0.8% as compared to total cell count. Substitution of agar with gellan gum increased the culturability of seawater bacteria approximately...

  1. Measurement of guided mode wavenumbers in soft tissue–bone mimicking phantoms using ultrasonic axial transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Jiangang; Su Zhongqing; Cheng Li; Foiret, Josquin; Minonzio, Jean-Gabriel; Talmant, Maryline; Laugier, Pascal

    2012-01-01

    Human soft tissue is an important factor that influences the assessment of human long bones using quantitative ultrasound techniques. To investigate such influence, a series of soft tissue–bone phantoms (a bone-mimicking plate coated with a layer of water, glycerol or silicon rubber) were ultrasonically investigated using a probe with multi-emitter and multi-receiver arrays in an axial transmission configuration. A singular value decomposition signal processing technique was applied to extract the frequency-dependent wavenumbers of several guided modes. The results indicate that the presence of a soft tissue-mimicking layer introduces additional guided modes predicted by a fluid waveguide model. The modes propagating in the bone-mimicking plate covered by the soft-tissue phantom are only slightly modified compared to their counterparts in the free bone-mimicking plate, and they are still predicted by an elastic transverse isotropic two-dimensional waveguide. Altogether these observations suggest that the soft tissue–bone phantoms can be modeled as two independent waveguides. Even in the presence of the overlying soft tissue-mimicking layer, the modes propagating in the bone-mimicking plate can still be extracted and identified. These results suggest that our approach can be applied for the purpose of the characterization of the material and structural properties of cortical bone. (paper)

  2. Coinhibitory molecules in cancer biology and therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mocellin, Simone; Benna, Clara; Pilati, Pierluigi

    2013-04-01

    The adaptive immune response is controlled by checkpoints represented by coinhibitory molecules, which are crucial for maintaining self-tolerance and minimizing collateral tissue damage under physiological conditions. A growing body of preclinical evidence supports the hypothesis that unleashing this immunological break might be therapeutically beneficial in the fight against cancer, as it would elicit an effective antitumor immune response. Remarkably, recent clinical trials have demonstrated that this novel strategy can be highly effective in the treatment of patients with cancer, as shown by the paradigmatic case of ipilimumab (a monoclonal antibody blocking the coinhibitory molecule cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 [CTLA4]) that is opening a new era in the therapeutic approach to a chemoresistant tumor such as cutaneous melanoma. In this review we summarize the biology of coinhibitory molecules, overview the experimental and clinical attempts to interfere with these immune checkpoints to treat cancer and critically discuss the challenges posed by such a promising antitumor modality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Insulator-protected mechanically controlled break junctions for measuring single-molecule conductance in aqueous environments

    OpenAIRE

    Muthusubramanian, N.; Galan, E.; Maity, C.; Eelkema, R.; Grozema, F.C.; van der Zant, H.S.J.

    2016-01-01

    We present a method to fabricate insulated gold mechanically controlled break junctions (MCBJ) by coating the metal with a thin layer of aluminum oxide using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition. The Al2O3 thickness deposited on the MCBJ devices was varied from 2 to 15 nm to test the suppression of leakage currents in deionized water and phosphate buffered saline. Junctions coated with a 15 nm thick oxide layer yielded atomically sharp electrodes and negligible conductance counts in the ra...

  4. Schwannoma of the left brachial plexus mimicking a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Schwannoma of the left brachial plexus mimicking a cervicomediastinal ... Her voice was hoarse but there was no eye signs suggestive of thyrotoxicosis. ... A presumptive diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma with retrosternal extension was made.

  5. Investigation on Single-Molecule Junctions Based on Current–Voltage Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuji Isshiki

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between the current through an electronic device and the voltage across its terminals is a current–voltage characteristic (I–V that determine basic device performance. Currently, I–V measurement on a single-molecule scale can be performed using break junction technique, where a single molecule junction can be prepared by trapping a single molecule into a nanogap between metal electrodes. The single-molecule I–Vs provide not only the device performance, but also reflect information on energy dispersion of the electronic state and the electron-molecular vibration coupling in the junction. This mini review focuses on recent representative studies on I–Vs of the single molecule junctions that cover investigation on the single-molecule diode property, the molecular vibration, and the electronic structure as a form of transmission probability, and electronic density of states, including the spin state of the single-molecule junctions. In addition, thermoelectronic measurements based on I–Vs and identification of the charged carriers (i.e., electrons or holes are presented. The analysis in the single-molecule I–Vs provides fundamental and essential information for a better understanding of the single-molecule science, and puts the single molecule junction to more practical use in molecular devices.

  6. Tongue metastasis mimicking an abscess.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavili, Ertuğrul; Oztürk, Mustafa; Yücel, Tuba; Yüce, Imdat; Cağli, Sedat

    2010-03-01

    Primary tumors metastasizing to the oral cavity are extremely rare. Lung is one of the most common primary sources of metastases to the tongue. Although the incidence of lung cancer is increasing, tongue metastasis as the initial presentation of the tumor remains uncommon. Due to the rarity of tongue metastasis, little is known about its imaging findings. Herein we report the magnetic resonance imaging and clinical findings of a lingual metastasis, mimicking an abscess, from a primary lung cancer.

  7. Compound Poisson Processes and Clustered Damage of Radiation Induced DNA Double Strand Breaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gudowska-Nowak, E.; Ritter, S.; Taucher-Scholz, G.; Kraft, G.

    2000-01-01

    Recent experimental data have demonstrated that DNA damage induced by densely ionizing radiation in mammalian cells is distributed along the DNA molecule in the form of clusters. The principal constituent of DNA damage are double-strand breaks (DSB) which are formed when the breaks occur in both DNA strands and are directly opposite or separated by only a few base pairs. DSBs are believed to be most important lesions produced in chromosomes by radiation; interaction between DSBs can lead to cell killing, mutation or carcinogenesis. The paper discusses a model of clustered DSB formation viewed in terms of compound Poisson process along with the predictive essay of the formalism in application to experimental data. (author)

  8. Probing symmetry and symmetry breaking in resonant soft-x-ray fluorescence spectra of molecules

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Glans, P.; Gunnelin, K.; Guo, J. [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden)] [and others

    1997-04-01

    Conventional non-resonant soft X-ray emission brings about information about electronic structure through its symmetry and polarization selectivity, the character of which is governed by simple dipole rules. For centro-symmetric molecules with the emitting atom at the inversion center these rules lead to selective emission through the required parity change. For the more common classes of molecules which have lower symmetry or for systems with degenerate core orbitals (delocalized over identical sites), it is merely the local symmetry selectivity that provides a probe of the local atomic orbital contribution to the molecular orbital. For instance, in X-ray spectra of first row species the intensities essentially map the p-density at each particular atomic site, and, in a molecular orbital picture, the contribution of the local p-type atomic orbitals in the LCAO description of the molecular orbitals. The situation is different for resonant X-ray fluorescence spectra. Here strict parity and symmetry selectivity gives rise to a strong frequency dependence for all molecules with an element of symmetry. In addition to symmetry selectivity the strong frequency dependence of resonant X-ray emission is caused by the interplay between the shape of a narrow X-ray excitation energy function and the lifetime and vibrational broadenings of the resonantly excited core states. This interplay leads to various observable effects, such as linear dispersion, resonance narrowing and emission line (Stokes) doubling. Also from the point of view of polarization selectivity, the resonantly excited X-ray spectra are much more informative than the corresponding non-resonant spectra. Examples are presented for nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide molecules.

  9. Improving long term driving comfort by taking breaks - how break activity affects effectiveness

    OpenAIRE

    Sammonds, GM; Mansfield, NJ; Fray, M

    2017-01-01

    During long duration journeys, drivers are encouraged to take regular breaks. The benefits of breaks have been documented for safety; breaks may also be beneficial for comfort. The activity undertaken during a break may influence its effectiveness. Volunteers completed 3 journeys on a driving simulator. Each 130 min journey included a 10 min break after the first hour. During the break volunteers either stayed seated, left the simulator and sat in an adjacent room, or took a walk on a treadmi...

  10. Iliacus Abscess with Radiculopathy Mimicking Herniated Nucleus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2016-05-02

    May 2, 2016 ... radiculopathy mimicking herniated nucleus pulposus: Aadditional diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging. Niger J Clin Pract. 2017;20:392-3. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons. Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 License, which allows ...

  11. Improving long term driving comfort by taking breaks - How break activity affects effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sammonds, George M; Mansfield, Neil J; Fray, Mike

    2017-11-01

    During long duration journeys, drivers are encouraged to take regular breaks. The benefits of breaks have been documented for safety; breaks may also be beneficial for comfort. The activity undertaken during a break may influence its effectiveness. Volunteers completed 3 journeys on a driving simulator. Each 130 min journey included a 10 min break after the first hour. During the break volunteers either stayed seated, left the simulator and sat in an adjacent room, or took a walk on a treadmill. The results show a reduction in driver discomfort during the break for all 3 conditions, but the effectiveness of the break was dependent on activity undertaken. Remaining seated in the vehicle provided some improvement in comfort, but more was experienced after leaving the simulator and sitting in an adjacent room. The most effective break occurred when the driver walked for 10 min on a treadmill. The benefits from taking a break continued until the end of the study (after a further hour of driving), such that comfort remained the best after taking a walk and worst for those who remained seated. It is concluded that taking a break and taking a walk is an effective method for relieving driving discomfort. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Hydraulic Response of Caisson Breakwaters in Multidirectional Breaking and Non-Breaking Waves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønbech, J.; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Hald, Tue

    1998-01-01

    The present paper concerns the results and findings of a physical study on wave impacts on vertical caisson breakwaters situated in irregular, multidirectional breaking seas. The study has taken place as part of the framework programme "Dynamic of Structures" financially supported by the Danish T...... breaking waves at deep water. The study on wave overtopping showed that the 3D wave overtopping formula suggested by Franco et al., 1995b, predicts the wave overtopping reasonable well for both non breaking and breaking waves at deep water.......The present paper concerns the results and findings of a physical study on wave impacts on vertical caisson breakwaters situated in irregular, multidirectional breaking seas. The study has taken place as part of the framework programme "Dynamic of Structures" financially supported by the Danish...... induced loading and overtopping on caisson breakwaters situated in breaking seas. Regarding the wave forces only minor differences between breaking and non breaking waves in deep water were observed, and it was found that the prediction formula of Goda also seems to apply well for multidirectionally...

  13. Selective breaking of bonds in water with intense, 2-cycle, infrared laser pulses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mathur, D., E-mail: atmol1@tifr.res.in; Dharmadhikari, A. K. [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1 Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400 005 (India); Dota, K. [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1 Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400 005 (India); Centre for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal University, Manipal 576 104 (India); Dey, D.; Tiwari, A. K. [Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741 246 (India); Dharmadhikari, J. A. [Centre for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal University, Manipal 576 104 (India); De, S. [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Bidhan Nagar, Kolkata 700 064 (India); Vasa, P. [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076 (India)

    2015-12-28

    One of the holy grails of contemporary science has been to establish the possibility of preferentially breaking one of several bonds in a molecule. For instance, the two O–H bonds in water are equivalent: given sufficient energy, either one of them is equally likely to break. We report bond-selective molecular fragmentation upon application of intense, 2-cycle pulses of 800 nm laser light: we demonstrate up to three-fold enhancement for preferential bond breaking in isotopically substituted water (HOD). Our experimental observations are rationalized by means of ab initio computations of the potential energy surfaces of HOD, HOD{sup +}, and HOD{sup 2+} and explorations of the dissociation limits resulting from either O–H or O–D bond rupture. The observations we report present a formidable theoretical challenge that need to be taken up in order to gain insights into molecular dynamics, strong field physics, chemical physics, non-adiabatic processes, mass spectrometry, and time-dependent quantum chemistry.

  14. 'BREAKS' Protocol for Breaking Bad News.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Vijayakumar; Bista, Bibek; Koshy, Cheriyan

    2010-05-01

    Information that drastically alters the life world of the patient is termed as bad news. Conveying bad news is a skilled communication, and not at all easy. The amount of truth to be disclosed is subjective. A properly structured and well-orchestrated communication has a positive therapeutic effect. This is a process of negotiation between patient and physician, but physicians often find it difficult due to many reasons. They feel incompetent and are afraid of unleashing a negative reaction from the patient or their relatives. The physician is reminded of his or her own vulnerability to terminal illness, and find themselves powerless over emotional distress. Lack of sufficient training in breaking bad news is a handicap to most physicians and health care workers. Adherence to the principles of client-centered counseling is helpful in attaining this skill. Fundamental insight of the patient is exploited and the bad news is delivered in a structured manner, because the patient is the one who knows what is hurting him most and he is the one who knows how to move forward. Six-step SPIKES protocol is widely used for breaking bad news. In this paper, we put forward another six-step protocol, the BREAKS protocol as a systematic and easy communication strategy for breaking bad news. Development of competence in dealing with difficult situations has positive therapeutic outcome and is a professionally satisfying one.

  15. Arrested Handedness and Disordered Stacking in Crystals of the Pre-helical Molecule 7,8-Dioxa[6]helicene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krebs, Frederik C; Faldt, André; Thorup, Niels

    1999-01-01

    A characteristic feature of many molecules of biological origin is their 'handedness' or enantiomorphism. L. Pasteur prepared and separated enantiomeric crystals in 1848.(1) Since then, manifestations of symmetry breaking have attracted much attention.(2,3) Simple models of the new horseshoe shaped...... molecule, 7,8-dioxa[6]helicene ( 1), indicated a low inversion barrier between helical enantiomers. A quasi-planar pi system capable of stack formation was also observed. The molecule in question is a so-called helicene. Aromatic helicenes and heteroaromatic helicenes constitute a class of molecules...

  16. Symmetry-breaking intramolecular charge transfer in the excited state of meso-linked BODIPY dyads

    KAUST Repository

    Whited, Matthew T.; Patel, Niral M.; Roberts, Sean T.; Allen, Kathryn; Djurovich, Peter I.; Bradforth, Stephen E.; Thompson, Mark E.

    2012-01-01

    We report the synthesis and characterization of symmetric BODIPY dyads where the chromophores are attached at the meso position, using either a phenylene bridge or direct linkage. Both molecules undergo symmetry-breaking intramolecular charge transfer in the excited state, and the directly linked dyad serves as a visible-light-absorbing analogue of 9,9′-bianthryl.

  17. Clozapine Intoxication Mimicking Acute Stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua D. Villarreal

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug prescribed for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. The risk of adverse hematologic, cardiovascular, and neurologic effects has tempered its use, and reports of overdoses remain rare. We report a case of accidental acute clozapine intoxication in a clozapine-naïve patient, who presented with symptoms mimicking acute stroke and later developed status epilepticus. Clozapine intoxication is a rare presentation in the emergency department with potential for iatrogenic harm if not correctly identified.

  18. B-L mediated SUSY breaking with radiative B-L symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kikuchi, Tatsuru; Kubo, Takayuki

    2008-01-01

    We explore a mechanism of radiative B-L symmetry breaking in analogous to the radiative electroweak symmetry breaking. The breaking scale of B-L symmetry is related to the neutrino masses through the see-saw mechanism. Once we incorporate the U(1) B-L gauge symmetry in SUSY models, the U(1) B-L gaugino, Z-tilde B-L appears, and it can mediate the SUSY breaking (Z-prime mediated SUSY breaking) at around the scale of 10 6 GeV. Then we find a links between the neutrino mass (more precisly the see-saw or B-L scale of order 10 6 GeV) and the Z-prime mediated SUSY breaking scale. It is also very interesting that the gluino at the weak scale becomes relatively light, and almost compressed mass spectra for the gaugino sector can be realized in this scenario, which is very interesting in scope of the LHC.

  19. A comprehensive study of extended tetrathiafulvalene cruciform molecules for molecular electronics: synthesis and electrical transport measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Christian R; Leary, Edmund; Frisenda, Riccardo; Wei, Zhongming; Jennum, Karsten S; Glibstrup, Emil; Abrahamsen, Peter Bæch; Santella, Marco; Christensen, Mikkel A; Della Pia, Eduardo Antonio; Li, Tao; Gonzalez, Maria Teresa; Jiang, Xingbin; Morsing, Thorbjørn J; Rubio-Bollinger, Gabino; Laursen, Bo W; Nørgaard, Kasper; van der Zant, Herre; Agrait, Nicolas; Nielsen, Mogens Brøndsted

    2014-11-26

    Cruciform-like molecules with two orthogonally placed π-conjugated systems have in recent years attracted significant interest for their potential use as molecular wires in molecular electronics. Here we present synthetic protocols for a large selection of cruciform molecules based on oligo(phenyleneethynylene) (OPE) and tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) scaffolds, end-capped with acetyl-protected thiolates as electrode anchoring groups. The molecules were subjected to a comprehensive study of their conducting properties as well as their photophysical and electrochemical properties in solution. The complex nature of the molecules and their possible binding in different configurations in junctions called for different techniques of conductance measurements: (1) conducting-probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM) measurements on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), (2) mechanically controlled break-junction (MCBJ) measurements, and (3) scanning tunneling microscopy break-junction (STM-BJ) measurements. The CP-AFM measurements showed structure-property relationships from SAMs of series of OPE3 and OPE5 cruciform molecules; the conductance of the SAM increased with the number of dithiafulvene (DTF) units (0, 1, 2) along the wire, and it increased when substituting two arylethynyl end groups of the OPE3 backbone with two DTF units. The MCBJ and STM-BJ studies on single molecules both showed that DTFs decreased the junction formation probability, but, in contrast, no significant influence on the single-molecule conductance was observed. We suggest that the origins of the difference between SAM and single-molecule measurements lie in the nature of the molecule-electrode interface as well as in effects arising from molecular packing in the SAMs. This comprehensive study shows that for complex molecules care should be taken when directly comparing single-molecule measurements and measurements of SAMs and solid-state devices thereof.

  20. Electrical transport through a metal-molecule-metal junction; Transport electrique a travers une jonction metal-molecule-metal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kergueris, Ch

    1998-12-17

    We investigate the electrical transport through a very few molecules connected to metallic electrodes at room temperature. First, the state of the art in molecular electronics is outlined. We present the most convincing molecular devices reported so far in the literature and the theoretical tools available to analyze the electron transport mechanism through a molecular junction. Second, we describe the use of mechanically controllable break junctions to investigate the electron transport properties through a metal-molecule-metal junction. Two kindsof molecules were adsorbed on the two facing gold electrodes, dodecane-thiol (DT) and bis-thiol-ter-thiophene ({alpha},{omega} T3), that are basically expected to behave as an insulator and as a molecular wire, respectively. In the latter case, we study the chemical reactivity of the molecule and show that {alpha},{omega} T3 is chemically adsorbed on gold electrodes. Current-voltage characteristics of the junction were observed at room temperature. The Gold-DT-Gold junction behaves as a simple metal-insulator-metal junction. On the other hand, the electron transport through a Gold-{alpha},{omega} T3-Gold junction explicitly involves the electronic structure of the molecule which gives rise to step-like features in the current-voltage characteristics. The measured zero bias conductance is interpreted using the scattering theory. At high bias, we discuss two different models: a coherent model where the electron has no time to be completely re-localized in the molecule and a sequential model where the electron is localized in the molecule during the transfer. Finally, we show that the mechanical action of decreasing the inter-electrodes spacing can be used to induce a strong modification of the current-voltage characteristics. (author)

  1. Parental Break-Ups and Stress

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dissing, Agnete S.; Dich, Nadya; Nybo Andersen, Anne-Marie

    2017-01-01

    Background: Parental break-up is wide spread, and the effects of parental break-up on children’s well-being are known. The evidence regarding child age at break-up and subsequent family arrangements is inconclusive. Aim: to estimate the effects of parental break-up on stress in pre-adolescent chi......Background: Parental break-up is wide spread, and the effects of parental break-up on children’s well-being are known. The evidence regarding child age at break-up and subsequent family arrangements is inconclusive. Aim: to estimate the effects of parental break-up on stress in pre......-adolescent children with a specific focus on age at break-up and post-breakup family arrangements. Methods: We used data from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Participants included 44 509 children followed from birth to age 11. Stress was self-reported by children at age 11, when the children also reported...... on parental break-up and post break-up family arrangements. Results: Twenty-one percent of the children had experienced a parental break-up at age 11, and those who had experienced parental break-up showed a higher risk of stress (OR:1.72, 95%CI:1.55;1.91) regardless of the child’s age at break-up. Children...

  2. Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Genome Editing Using a Chimeric Single-Guide RNA Molecule

    KAUST Repository

    Butt, Haroon; Eid, Ayman; Ali, Zahir; Atia, Mohamed A. M.; Mokhtar, Morad M.; Hassan, Norhan; Lee, Ciaran M.; Bao, Gang; Mahfouz, Magdy M.

    2017-01-01

    used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate targeted double-strand breaks and to deliver an RNA repair template for HDR in rice (Oryza sativa). We used chimeric single-guide RNA (cgRNA) molecules carrying both sequences for target site specificity (to generate

  3. Experimental determination of the spin-rotation coupling constant in the Cs129Xe and K129Xe molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Z.; Happer, W.

    1984-01-01

    Since alkali-noble gas van der Waals molecules are involved in the spin transfer process, the physics can be naturally divided into two parts. One of them is to study the formation and break-up rates of the molecules, the chemical equilibrium constant, etc. The other aspect of this problem is to study how the individual angular momenta evolve during the lifetime of the molecule. The experiments described address the second aspect

  4. Deep Granuloma Annulare Mimicking Inflamed Cysts in a Teenager.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Emily L; Degesys, Catherine A; Jahan-Tigh, Richard; Chan, Audrey

    2017-07-01

    We describe deep granuloma annulare (DGA) of the forehead mimicking inflamed cysts. Reactive inflammation and sterile purulent drainage may be an underrecognized feature of DGA. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Experimental Evidence for Quantum Interference and Vibrationally Induced Decoherence in Single-Molecule Junctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballmann, Stefan; Härtle, Rainer; Coto, Pedro B.; Elbing, Mark; Mayor, Marcel; Bryce, Martin R.; Thoss, Michael; Weber, Heiko B.

    2012-08-01

    We analyze quantum interference and decoherence effects in single-molecule junctions both experimentally and theoretically by means of the mechanically controlled break junction technique and density-functional theory. We consider the case where interference is provided by overlapping quasidegenerate states. Decoherence mechanisms arising from electronic-vibrational coupling strongly affect the electrical current flowing through a single-molecule contact and can be controlled by temperature variation. Our findings underline the universal relevance of vibrations for understanding charge transport through molecular junctions.

  6. Duality after supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shadmi, Yael; Cheng, Hsin-Chia

    1998-05-01

    Starting with two supersymmetric dual theories, we imagine adding a chiral perturbation that breaks supersymmetry dynamically. At low energy we then get two theories with soft supersymmetry-breaking terms that are generated dynamically. With a canonical Kaehler potential, some of the scalars of the ''magnetic'' theory typically have negative mass-squared, and the vector-like symmetry is broken. Since for large supersymmetry breaking the ''electric'' theory becomes ordinary QCD, the two theories are then incompatible. For small supersymmetry breaking, if duality still holds, the magnetic theory analysis implies specific patterns of chiral symmetry breaking in supersymmetric QCD with small soft masses

  7. Orthokeratinised odontogenic cyst mimicking periapical cyst

    OpenAIRE

    Rajalakshmi, R; Sreeja, C; Vijayalakshmi, D; Leelarani, V

    2013-01-01

    Orthokeratinised odontogenic cyst (OOC) denotes the odontogenic cyst that microscopically has an orthokeratinised epithelial lining. OOC is characterised by a less-aggressive behaviour and a low rate of recurrence. This report describes a case of OOC involving posterior part of the mandible that mimicked periapical cyst in a 14-year-old boy. The initial clinical diagnosis was given as periapical cyst based on the clinical and radiographical features. Enucleation of the cyst was performed and ...

  8. Single-Molecule Sensing with Nanopore Confinement: from Chemical Reactions to Biological Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yao; Ying, Yi-Lun; Gao, Rui; Long, Yi-Tao

    2018-03-25

    The nanopore can generate an electrochemical confinement for single-molecule sensing which help understand the fundamental chemical principle in nanoscale dimensions. By observing the generated ionic current, individual bond-making and bond-breaking steps, single biomolecule dynamic conformational changes and electron transfer processes that occur within pore can be monitored with high temporal and current resolution. These single-molecule studies in nanopore confinement are revealing information about the fundamental chemical and biological processes that cannot be extracted from ensemble measurements. In this concept, we introduce and discuss the electrochemical confinement effects on single-molecule covalent reactions, conformational dynamics of individual molecules and host-guest interactions in protein nanopores. Then, we extend the concept of nanopore confinement effects to confine electrochemical redox reactions in solid-state nanopores for developing new sensing mechanisms. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Ectopic decidual reaction mimicking inguinal lymphoma on ultrasound

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lorentzen, C.; Prangsgaard, Tina; Lorentzen, Torben

    2014-01-01

    Ectopic decidual reaction has been described in various intraperitoneal locations. We present a case of unusual ectopic decidual reaction in the groin mimicking inguinal lymphoma on ultrasound in a pregnant woman. This case contributes evidence illustrating the variability of the clinical...... presentation of ectopic decidual reaction....

  10. Rare extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma mimicking as adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertens, Michelle; Haenen, Filip W N; Siozopoulou, Vasiliki; Van Cleemput, Marc

    2017-06-01

    Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma (EES) is a rare finding in comparison with Ewing's sarcoma of bone and usually manifests in young patients. However, even in older patients, one must consider the diagnosis. In this case, we describe a 52-year-old woman diagnosed with EES, mimicking as adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid. The tumor was not visualized by a multi-slice spiral computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis with intravenous contrast, and eventually the diagnosis was made by positive immunohistochemical staining for CD99 and by molecular testing for EWSR1 translocation. This combination of the patient's age and the localization of the tumor mimicking an adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid has never been described before.

  11. Tension pneumocephalus mimicking septic shock: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda, Caroline; Mahta, Ali; Wheeler, Lee Adam; Tsiouris, A John; Kamel, Hooman

    2018-02-01

    Tension pneumocephalus can lead to rapid neurologic deterioration. We report for the first time its association with aseptic systemic inflammatory response syndrome mimicking septic shock and the efficacy of prompt neurosurgical intervention and critical care support in treating this condition. A 64-year-old man underwent 2-stage olfactory groove meningioma resection. The patient developed altered mental status and gait instability on postoperative day 6. Imaging showed significant pneumocephalus. The patient subsequently developed worsening mental status, respiratory failure, and profound shock requiring multiple vasopressors. Bedside needle decompression, identification and repair of the cranial fossa defect, and critical care support led to improved mental status and reversal of shock and multiorgan dysfunction. Thorough evaluation revealed no evidence of an underlying infection. In this case, tension pneumocephalus incited an aseptic systemic inflammatory response syndrome mimicking septic shock. Prompt neurosurgical correction of pneumocephalus and critical care support not only improved neurologic status, but also reversed shock. Such a complication indicates the importance of close monitoring of patients with progressive pneumocephalus.

  12. Prototropic tautomerism of 4-Methyl 1,2,4-Triazole-3-Thione molecule in solvent water medium: DFT and Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dutta, Bipan; De, Rina; Chowdhury, Joydeep

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The tautomerism of 4-MTTN molecule in solvent water medium has been investigated. • CPMD presage the possibility of PT reactions through the solvent water medium. • Concerted PT processes in 4-MTTN have been estimated from the DFT and NBO analyses. • Percentage evolution and breaking of the concerned bonds are estimated. - Abstract: The ground state prototropic tautomerism of 4-Methyl 1,2,4-Triazole-3-Thione molecule in solvent water medium has been investigated with the aid of DFT and Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulation studies. The CPMD simulations envisage the possibility of proton transfer reactions of the molecule through the solvent water medium. Probable proton transfer pathways have been predicted from the DFT calculations which are substantiated by the natural bond orbital analyses. The evolution and breaking of the concerned bonds of the molecule for different proton transfer reaction pathways are also estimated.

  13. Quantum work distribution for a driven diatomic molecule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leonard, Alison; Deffner, Sebastian

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A method for calculating the time-dependent solution for a driven system is proposed. • These solutions are used to compute the quantum work distribution. • This distribution is calculated for the Morse potential mimicking a diatomic molecule. • Due to bound and scattering states distribution exhibits continuous and discrete part. • Result is compared with that of a harmonic approximation. - Abstract: We compute the quantum work distribution for a driven Morse oscillator. To this end, we solve the time-dependent dynamics for a scale-invariant process, from which the exact expressions for the transition probabilities are found. Special emphasis is put on the contributions to the work distribution from discrete (bound) and continuous (scattering) parts of the spectrum. The analysis is concluded by comparing the work distribution for the exact Morse potential and the one resulting from a harmonic approximation

  14. Electrocardiogram artifact caused by rigors mimicking narrow complex tachycardia: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthias, Anne Thushara; Indrakumar, Jegarajah

    2014-02-04

    The electrocardiogram (ECG) is useful in the diagnosis of cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. Rigors due to shivering can cause electrocardiogram artifacts mimicking various cardiac rhythm abnormalities. We describe an 80-year-old Sri Lankan man with an abnormal electrocardiogram mimicking narrow complex tachycardia during the immediate post-operative period. Electrocardiogram changes caused by muscle tremor during rigors could mimic a narrow complex tachycardia. Identification of muscle tremor as a cause of electrocardiogram artifact can avoid unnecessary pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention to prevent arrhythmias.

  15. Intra-abdominal gout mimicking pelvic abscess

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Chia-Hui; Chen, Clement Kuen-Huang; Yeh, Lee-Ren; Pan, Huay-Ban; Yang, Chien-Fang

    2005-01-01

    Gout is the most common crystal-induced arthritis. Gouty tophi typically deposit in the extremities, especially toes and fingers. We present an unusual case of intrapelvic tophaceous gout in a patient suffering from chronic gouty arthritis. CT and MRI of the abdomen and pelvic cavity disclosed calcified gouty tophi around both hips, and a cystic lesion with peripheral enhancement in the pelvic cavity along the course of the iliopsoas muscle. The intra-abdominal tophus mimicked pelvic abscess. (orig.)

  16. Intra-abdominal gout mimicking pelvic abscess

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Chia-Hui; Chen, Clement Kuen-Huang [Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung (Taiwan); National Yang-Ming University, School of Medicine, Taipei (Taiwan); Yeh, Lee-Ren; Pan, Huay-Ban; Yang, Chien-Fang [Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung (Taiwan)

    2005-04-01

    Gout is the most common crystal-induced arthritis. Gouty tophi typically deposit in the extremities, especially toes and fingers. We present an unusual case of intrapelvic tophaceous gout in a patient suffering from chronic gouty arthritis. CT and MRI of the abdomen and pelvic cavity disclosed calcified gouty tophi around both hips, and a cystic lesion with peripheral enhancement in the pelvic cavity along the course of the iliopsoas muscle. The intra-abdominal tophus mimicked pelvic abscess. (orig.)

  17. Nucleus-staining with biomolecule-mimicking nitrogen-doped carbon dots prepared by a fast neutralization heat strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Yan-Fei; Fang, Yang-Wu; Li, Yu-Hao; Li, Wen; Yin, Xue-Bo

    2015-12-11

    Biomolecule-mimicking nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-Cdots) were synthesized from dopamine by a neutralization heat strategy. Fluorescence imaging of various cells validated their nucleus-staining efficiency. The dopamine-mimicking N-Cdots "trick" nuclear membranes to achieve nuclear localization and imaging.

  18. Concise Review: Fabrication, Customization, and Application of Cell Mimicking Microparticles in Stem Cell Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labriola, Nicholas R; Azagury, Aharon; Gutierrez, Robert; Mathiowitz, Edith; Darling, Eric M

    2018-02-01

    Stem and non-stem cell behavior is heavily influenced by the surrounding microenvironment, which includes other cells, matrix, and potentially biomaterials. Researchers have been successful in developing scaffolds and encapsulation techniques to provide stem cells with mechanical, topographical, and chemical cues to selectively direct them toward a desired differentiation pathway. However, most of these systems fail to present truly physiological replications of the in vivo microenvironments that stem cells are typically exposed to in tissues. Thus, cell mimicking microparticles (CMMPs) have been developed to more accurately recapitulate the properties of surrounding cells while still offering ways to tailor what stimuli are presented. This nascent field holds the promise of reducing, or even eliminating, the need for live cells in select, regenerative medicine therapies, and diagnostic applications. Recent, CMMP-based studies show great promise for the technology, yet only reproduce a small subset of cellular characteristics from among those possible: size, morphology, topography, mechanical properties, surface molecules, and tailored chemical release to name the most prominent. This Review summarizes the strengths, weaknesses, and ideal applications of micro/nanoparticle fabrication and customization methods relevant to cell mimicking and provides an outlook on the future of this technology. Moving forward, researchers should seek to combine multiple techniques to yield CMMPs that replicate as many cellular characteristics as possible, with an emphasis on those that most strongly influence the desired therapeutic effects. The level of flexibility in customizing CMMP properties allows them to substitute for cells in a variety of regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and diagnostic systems. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2018;7:232-240. © 2018 The Authors Stem Cells Translational Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of AlphaMed Press.

  19. Peaking cladding temperature and break equivalent size of intermediate break loss of coolant accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Bangqi

    2012-01-01

    The analysis results of intermediate break loss of coolant accident for the nuclear power plant of million kw level showed to be as following: (1) At the begin of life, the break occur simultaneity reactor shutdown with L(X)P. it's equivalent break size and peaking cladding temperature is respectively 20 cm and 849℃. (2) At the begin of life, the break occur simultaneity reactor shutdown without loop. the reactor coolant pumps will be stop after reactor shutdown 10 minutes, it's equivalent break size and peaking cladding temperature is respectively 10.5 cm and 921℃. (3) At the bur up of 31 GWd/t(EOC1). the break occur simultaneity reactor shutdown without loop, the reactor coolant pumps will be stop after reactor shutdown 20 minutes, it's equivalent break size and peaking cladding temperature is respectively 8 cm and 1145℃. The above analysis results showed that the peaking cladding temperature of intermediate break loss of coolant accident is not only related with the break equivalent size and core bur up, and is closely related with the stop time of coolant pumps because the coolant pumps would drive the coolant from safety system to produce the seal loop in break loop and affect the core coolant flow, results in the fuel cladding temperature increasing or damaging. Therefore, the break spectrum, burn up spectrum, the stop time of coolant pumps and operator action time will need to detail analysis and provide appropriate operating procedure, otherwise the peaking cladding temperature will exceed 1204℃ and threaten the safety of the reactor core when the intermediate break loss of coolant accident occur in some break equivalent size, burn up, stop pumps time and operator action not appropriate. The pressurizer pressure low signal simultaneity containment pressure higher signal were used as the operator manual close the signal of reactor coolant pumps after reactor shutdown of 20 minutes. have successful solved the operator intervention time from 10 minutes

  20. Imaging findings of mimickers of hepatocellular carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tae Kyoung Kim

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Radiological imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC as the noninvasive diagnosis of HCC in high-risk patients by typical imaging findings alone is widely adopted in major practice guidelines for HCC. While imaging techniques have markedly improved in detecting small liver lesions, they often detect incidental benign liver lesions and non-hepatocellular malignancy that can be misdiagnosed as HCC. The most common mimicker of HCC in cirrhotic liver is nontumorous arterioportal shunts that are seen as focal hypervascular liver lesions on dynamic contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging. Rapidly enhancing hemangiomas can be easily misdiagnosed as HCC especially on MR imaging with liver-specific contrast agent. Focal inflammatory liver lesions mimic HCC by demonstrating arterial-phase hypervascularity and subsequent washout on dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging. It is important to recognize the suggestive imaging findings for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CC as the management of CC is largely different from that of HCC. There are other benign mimickers of HCC such as angiomyolipomas and focal nodular hyperplasia-like nodules. Recognition of their typical imaging findings can reduce false-positive HCC diagnosis.

  1. Osteoid osteoma and osteoid osteoma-mimicking lesions: biopsy findings, distinctive MDCT features and treatment by radiofrequency ablation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becce, Fabio [Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne (Switzerland); Universite Paris Descartes, Department of Radiology B, Hopital Cochin, AP-HP, Paris (France); Theumann, Nicolas [Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne (Switzerland); Rochette, Antoine; Campagna, Raphael; Drape, Jean-Luc; Feydy, Antoine [Universite Paris Descartes, Department of Radiology B, Hopital Cochin, AP-HP, Paris (France); Larousserie, Frederique [Universite Paris Descartes, Department of Anatomic Pathology, Hopital Cochin, AP-HP, Paris (France); Cherix, Stephane; Mouhsine, Elyazid [Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Surgery, Lausanne (Switzerland); Guillou, Louis [University Institute of Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne (Switzerland); Anract, Philippe [Universite Paris Descartes, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hopital Cochin, AP-HP, Paris (France)

    2010-10-15

    To report the biopsy findings of osteoid osteoma (OO) and OO-mimicking lesions, assess their distinctive multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) features and evaluate treatment by radiofrequency ablation (RFA). In this multicentric retrospective study, 80 patients (54 male, 26 female, mean age 24.1 years, range 5-48) with presumed (clinical and MDCT features) OO were treated by percutaneous RFA between May 2002 and June 2009. Per-procedural biopsies were always performed. The following MDCT features were assessed: skeletal distribution and location within the bone, size, central calcification, surrounding osteosclerosis and periosteal reaction. Clinical success of RFA was evaluated. Histopathological diagnoses were: 54 inconclusive biopsies, 16 OO, 10 OO-mimicking lesions (5 chronic osteomyelitis, 3 chondroblastoma, 1 eosinophilic granuloma, 1 fibrous dysplasia). OO-mimicking lesions were significantly greater in size (p = 0.001) and presented non-significant trends towards medullary location (p = 0.246), moderate surrounding osteosclerosis (p = 0.189) and less periosteal reaction (p = 0.197), compared with OO. Primary success for ablation of OO-mimicking lesions was 100% at 1 month, 85.7% at 6 and 12 months, and 66.7% at 24 months. Secondary success was 100%. Larger size, medullary location, less surrounding osteosclerosis and periosteal reaction on MDCT may help differentiate OO-mimicking lesions from OO. OO-mimicking lesions are safely and successfully treated by RFA. (orig.)

  2. Osteoid osteoma and osteoid osteoma-mimicking lesions: biopsy findings, distinctive MDCT features and treatment by radiofrequency ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becce, Fabio; Theumann, Nicolas; Rochette, Antoine; Campagna, Raphael; Drape, Jean-Luc; Feydy, Antoine; Larousserie, Frederique; Cherix, Stephane; Mouhsine, Elyazid; Guillou, Louis; Anract, Philippe

    2010-01-01

    To report the biopsy findings of osteoid osteoma (OO) and OO-mimicking lesions, assess their distinctive multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) features and evaluate treatment by radiofrequency ablation (RFA). In this multicentric retrospective study, 80 patients (54 male, 26 female, mean age 24.1 years, range 5-48) with presumed (clinical and MDCT features) OO were treated by percutaneous RFA between May 2002 and June 2009. Per-procedural biopsies were always performed. The following MDCT features were assessed: skeletal distribution and location within the bone, size, central calcification, surrounding osteosclerosis and periosteal reaction. Clinical success of RFA was evaluated. Histopathological diagnoses were: 54 inconclusive biopsies, 16 OO, 10 OO-mimicking lesions (5 chronic osteomyelitis, 3 chondroblastoma, 1 eosinophilic granuloma, 1 fibrous dysplasia). OO-mimicking lesions were significantly greater in size (p = 0.001) and presented non-significant trends towards medullary location (p = 0.246), moderate surrounding osteosclerosis (p = 0.189) and less periosteal reaction (p = 0.197), compared with OO. Primary success for ablation of OO-mimicking lesions was 100% at 1 month, 85.7% at 6 and 12 months, and 66.7% at 24 months. Secondary success was 100%. Larger size, medullary location, less surrounding osteosclerosis and periosteal reaction on MDCT may help differentiate OO-mimicking lesions from OO. OO-mimicking lesions are safely and successfully treated by RFA. (orig.)

  3. Peroxidase-Mimicking Nanozyme with Enhanced Activity and High Stability Based on Metal-Support Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhihao; Yang, Xiangdong; Yang, Yanbing; Tan, Yaning; He, Yue; Liu, Meng; Liu, Xinwen; Yuan, Quan

    2018-01-09

    Peroxidase-mimicking nanozymes offer unique advantages in terms of high stability and low cost over natural peroxidase for applications in bioanalysis, biomedicine, and the treatment of pollution. However, the design of high-efficiency peroxidase-mimicking nanozymes remains a great challenge. In this study, we adopted a structural-design approach through hybridization of cube-CeO 2 and Pt nanoparticles to create a new peroxidase-mimicking nanozyme with high efficiency and excellent stability. Relative to pure cube-CeO 2 and Pt nanoparticles, the as-hybridized Pt/cube-CeO 2 nanocomposites display much improved activities because of the strong metal-support interaction. Meanwhile, the nanocomposites also maintain high catalytic activity after long-term storage and multiple recycling. Based on their excellent properties, Pt/cube-CeO 2 nanocomposites were used to construct high-performance colorimetric biosensors for the sensitive detection of metabolites, including H 2 O 2 and glucose. Our findings highlight opportunities for the development of high-efficiency peroxidase-mimicking nanozymes with potential applications such as diagnostics, biomedicine, and the treatment of pollution. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Mycobacterium intracellulare Infection Mimicking Progression of Scleroderma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krabbe, Simon; Engelhart, Merete; Thybo, Sören

    2017-01-01

    This case report describes a patient with scleroderma who developed Mycobacterium intracellulare infection, which for more than a year mimicked worsening of her connective tissue disorder. The patient was diagnosed with scleroderma based on puffy fingers that developed into sclerodactyly, abnormal......, unfortunately with significant scarring. Immunodeficiency testing was unremarkable. In summary, an infection with Mycobacterium intracellulare was mistaken for an unusually severe progression of scleroderma....

  5. The spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkynes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pla-Vilanova, Pepita; Aragonès, Albert C; Sanz, Fausto; Darwish, Nadim; Diez-Perez, Ismael; Ciampi, Simone

    2015-01-01

    Herein, we report the spontaneous formation of single-molecule junctions via terminal alkyne contact groups. Self-assembled monolayers that form spontaneously from diluted solutions of 1, 4-diethynylbenzene (DEB) were used to build single-molecule contacts and assessed using the scanning tunneling microscopy-break junction technique (STM-BJ). The STM-BJ technique in both its dynamic and static approaches was used to characterize the lifetime (stability) and the conductivity of a single-DEB wire. It is demonstrated that single-molecule junctions form spontaneously with terminal alkynes and require no electrochemical control or chemical deprotonation. The alkyne anchoring group was compared against typical contact groups exploited in single-molecule studies, i.e. amine (benzenediamine) and thiol (benzendithiol) contact groups. The alkyne contact showed a conductance magnitude comparable to that observed with amine and thiol groups. The lifetime of the junctions formed from alkynes were only slightly less than that of thiols and greater than that observed for amines. These findings are important as (a) they extend the repertoire of chemical contacts used in single-molecule measurements to 1-alkynes, which are synthetically accessible and stable and (b) alkynes have a remarkable affinity toward silicon surfaces, hence opening the door for the study of single-molecule transport on a semiconducting electronic platform. (fast track communication)

  6. Probing the local environment of a single OPE3 molecule using inelastic tunneling electron spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisenda, Riccardo; Perrin, Mickael L; van der Zant, Herre S J

    2015-01-01

    We study single-molecule oligo(phenylene ethynylene)dithiol junctions by means of inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS). The molecule is contacted with gold nano-electrodes formed with the mechanically controllable break junction technique. We record the IETS spectrum of the molecule from direct current measurements, both as a function of time and electrode separation. We find that for fixed electrode separation the molecule switches between various configurations, which are characterized by different IETS spectra. Similar variations in the IETS signal are observed during atomic rearrangements upon stretching of the molecular junction. Using quantum chemistry calculations, we identity some of the vibrational modes which constitute a chemical fingerprint of the molecule. In addition, changes can be attributed to rearrangements of the local molecular environment, in particular at the molecule-electrode interface. This study shows the importance of taking into account the interaction with the electrodes when describing inelastic contributions to transport through single-molecule junctions.

  7. Single-molecule conductance with nitrile and amino contacts with Ag or Cu electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Dong-Fang; Mao, Jin-Chuan; Chen, De-Li; Chen, Fang; Ze-Wen, Hong; Zhou, Xiao-Yi; Wang, Ya-Hao; Zhou, Xiao-Shun; Niu, Zhen-Jiang; Maisonhaute, Emmanuel

    2015-01-01

    The single-molecule conductance of 1,4-dicyanobenzene (DCB), 1,4-benzenediamine (BDA) and 4,4'-biphenyldicarbonitrile (BPDC) with Ag and/or Cu electrodes is measured by electrochemical jump-to-contact STM-break junction. All single-molecule junctions present three sets of conductance values revealing different contact geometries. We observe that the single-molecule conductance of Ag-BDA-Ag junction is larger that of Ag-DCB-Ag junction, and DCB with Ag contacts are more conductive than that with Cu ones. This is related to a different electronic coupling between the molecules and the electrodes. Tunneling decay constants of 1.70 and 1.68 per phenyl group were found for Ag and Cu electrodes, respectively. The present study therefore shows that nitrile and amino groups can also be used as effective anchors for other metals than gold

  8. Symmetry and symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balian, R.; Lambert, D.; Brack, A.; Lachieze-Rey, M.; Emery, E.; Cohen-Tannoudji, G.; Sacquin, Y.

    1999-01-01

    The symmetry concept is a powerful tool for our understanding of the world. It allows a reduction of the volume of information needed to apprehend a subject thoroughly. Moreover this concept does not belong to a particular field, it is involved in the exact sciences but also in artistic matters. Living beings are characterized by a particular asymmetry: the chiral asymmetry. Although this asymmetry is visible in whole organisms, it seems it comes from some molecules that life always produce in one chirality. The weak interaction presents also the chiral asymmetry. The mass of particles comes from the breaking of a fundamental symmetry and the void could be defined as the medium showing as many symmetries as possible. The texts put together in this book show to a great extent how symmetry goes far beyond purely geometrical considerations. Different aspects of symmetry ideas are considered in the following fields: the states of matter, mathematics, biology, the laws of Nature, quantum physics, the universe, and the art of music. (A.C.)

  9. Effects of mimicking: Acting prosocially by being emotionally moved

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stel, M.; Baaren, R.B. van; Vonk, R.

    2008-01-01

    Mimicry is functional for empathy and bonding purposes. Studies on the consequences of mimicry at a behavioral level demonstrated that mimicry increases prosocial behavior. However, these previous studies focused on the mimickee. In the present paper, we investigated whether mimickers also become

  10. Endometriosis of the mesoappendix mimicking appendicitis: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suman Mewa Kinoo

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Although appendicitis is largely a clinical diagnosis, on occasions diagnostic modalities may be needed to aid with the diagnosis. Despite the use of adjuncts and exploratory surgery, the diagnosis may not be clear until a histological diagnosis is achieved. Endometriosis of the appendix mimicking appendicitis is one of these diagnoses described in several case reports. Endometriosis of the meso-appendix has been described in association with intussusception of the appendix in several case reports. However, to our knowledge, endometriosis of the meso-appendix mimicking appendicitis has not been reported to date. We present the case of a 33-year-old woman with classic clinical signs and symptoms of appendicitis endorsed on computed tomography imaging. The patient underwent a laparoscopic appendicectomy with the postoperative histology demonstrating a normal appendix with endometriosis of the meso-appendix.

  11. Tension pneumocephalus mimicking septic shock: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline Miranda, MD

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Tension pneumocephalus can lead to rapid neurologic deterioration. We report for the first time its association with aseptic systemic inflammatory response syndrome mimicking septic shock and the efficacy of prompt neurosurgical intervention and critical care support in treating this condition. A 64-year-old man underwent 2-stage olfactory groove meningioma resection. The patient developed altered mental status and gait instability on postoperative day 6. Imaging showed significant pneumocephalus. The patient subsequently developed worsening mental status, respiratory failure, and profound shock requiring multiple vasopressors. Bedside needle decompression, identification and repair of the cranial fossa defect, and critical care support led to improved mental status and reversal of shock and multiorgan dysfunction. Thorough evaluation revealed no evidence of an underlying infection. In this case, tension pneumocephalus incited an aseptic systemic inflammatory response syndrome mimicking septic shock. Prompt neurosurgical correction of pneumocephalus and critical care support not only improved neurologic status, but also reversed shock. Such a complication indicates the importance of close monitoring of patients with progressive pneumocephalus.

  12. Observing electron localization in a dissociating H2+ molecule in real time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, H; Li, Zhichao; He, Feng; Wang, X; Atia-Tul-Noor, A; Kielpinski, D; Sang, R T; Litvinyuk, I V

    2017-06-16

    Dissociation of diatomic molecules with odd number of electrons always causes the unpaired electron to localize on one of the two resulting atomic fragments. In the simplest diatomic molecule H 2 + dissociation yields a hydrogen atom and a proton with the sole electron ending up on one of the two nuclei. That is equivalent to breaking of a chemical bond-the most fundamental chemical process. Here we observe such electron localization in real time by performing a pump-probe experiment. We demonstrate that in H 2 + electron localization is complete in just 15 fs when the molecule's internuclear distance reaches 8 atomic units. The measurement is supported by a theoretical simulation based on numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. This observation advances our understanding of detailed dynamics of molecular dissociation.

  13. Theoretical calculation of fully differential cross sections for electron-impact ionization of hydrogen molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Junfang; Madison, D H; Peacher, J L

    2006-01-01

    We have recently proposed the orientation averaged molecular orbital (OAMO) approximation for calculating fully differential cross sections (FDCS) for electron-impact ionization of molecules averaged over all molecular orientations. Orientation averaged FDCS were calculated for electron-impact ionization of nitrogen molecules using the distorted wave impulse approximation (DWIA) and the molecular three-body distorted wave (M3DW) approximation. In this paper, we use the same methods to examine the FDCS for ionization of hydrogen molecules. It is found that the DWIA yields reasonable results for high-energy incident electrons. While the DWIA breaks down for low-energy electrons, the M3DW gives reasonable results down to incident-electron energies around 35 eV

  14. Intracranial capillary hemangioma mimicking a dissociative disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Lacasse

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Capillary hemangiomas, hamartomatous proliferation of vascular endothelial cells, are rare in the central nervous system (CNS. Intracranial capillary hemangiomas presenting with reversible behavioral abnormalities and focal neurological deficits have rarely been reported. We report a case of CNS capillary hemangioma presenting with transient focal neurological deficits and behavioral abnormalities mimicking Ganser’s syndrome. Patient underwent total excision of the vascular malformation, resulting in complete resolution of his symptoms.

  15. Brown tumor mimicking maxillary sinus mucocele as the first manifestation of primary hyperparathyroidism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guldfred, Liviu-Adelin; Daugaard, Søren; von Buchwald, Christian

    2012-01-01

    We describe the first case of brown tumor mimicking a maxillary sinus mucocele as the first manifestation of the patient's primary hyperparathyroidism. A 34-year old woman presented with a 14 days history of elevation of the right orbit, retrobulbar pain and cheek anesthesia. The CT and MR evalua...... either giant cell granuloma or brown tumor. The finding of hyperparathyroidism confirmed the diagnosis of brown tumor. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cystic brown tumor mimicking a mucocele of the maxillary sinus....

  16. Dynamical supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Affleck, I.

    1985-03-01

    Supersymmetry, and in particular, dynamical supersymmetry breaking, offers the hope of a natural solution of the gauge hierarchy problem in grand unification. I briefly review recent work on dynamical supersymmetry breaking in four-dimensional Higgs theories and its application to grand unified model building

  17. Clinical and Histologic Mimickers of Celiac Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamboj, Amrit K; Oxentenko, Amy S

    2017-08-17

    Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small bowel, classically associated with diarrhea, abdominal pain, and malabsorption. The diagnosis of celiac disease is made when there are compatible clinical features, supportive serologic markers, representative histology from the small bowel, and response to a gluten-free diet. Histologic findings associated with celiac disease include intraepithelial lymphocytosis, crypt hyperplasia, villous atrophy, and a chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate in the lamina propria. It is important to recognize and diagnose celiac disease, as strict adherence to a gluten-free diet can lead to resolution of clinical and histologic manifestations of the disease. However, many other entities can present with clinical and/or histologic features of celiac disease. In this review article, we highlight key clinical and histologic mimickers of celiac disease. The evaluation of a patient with serologically negative enteropathy necessitates a carefully elicited history and detailed review by a pathologist. Medications can mimic celiac disease and should be considered in all patients with a serologically negative enteropathy. Many mimickers of celiac disease have clues to the underlying diagnosis, and many have a targeted therapy. It is necessary to provide patients with a correct diagnosis rather than subject them to a lifetime of an unnecessary gluten-free diet.

  18. Breaking of ocean surface waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Babanin, A.V.

    2009-01-01

    Wind-generated waves are the most prominent feature of the ocean surface, and so are breaking waves manifested by the appearance of sporadic whitecaps. Such breaking represents one of the most interesting and most challenging problems for both fluid mechanics and physical oceanography. It is an intermittent random process, very fast by comparison with other processes in the wave breaking on the water surface is not continuous, but its role in maintaining the energy balance within the continuous wind-wave field is critical. Ocean wave breaking also plays the primary role in the air-sea exchange of momentum, mass and heat, and it is of significant importance for ocean remote sensing, coastal and maritime engineering, navigation and other practical applications. Understanding the wave breaking its occurrence, the breaking rates and even ability to describe its onset has been hindered for decades by the strong non-linearity of the process, together with its irregular and ferocious nature. Recently, this knowledge has significantly advanced, and the review paper is an attempt to summarise the facts into a consistent, albeit still incomplete picture of the phenomenon. In the paper, variety of definitions related to the were breaking are discussed and formulated and methods for breaking detection and measurements are examined. Most of attention is dedicated to the research of wave breaking probability and severity. Experimental, observational, numerical and statistical approaches and their outcomes are reviewed. Present state of the wave-breaking research and knowledge is analysed and main outstanding problems are outlined (Authors)

  19. Bio-Inspired PVDF-Based, Mouse Whisker Mimicking, Tactile Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsin Islam Tiwana

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The design and fabrication of a Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF based, mouse (or rodent whisker mimicking, tactile sensor is presented. Unlike previous designs reported in the literature, this sensor mimics the mouse whisker not only mechanically, but it also makes macro movements just like a real mouse whisker in a natural environment. We have developed a mathematical model and performed finite element analysis using COMSOL, in order to optimise the whisker to have the same natural frequency as that of a biological whisker. Similarly, we have developed a control system that enables the whisker mimicking sensor to vibrate at variable frequencies and conducted practical experiments to validate the response of the sensor. The natural frequency of the whisker can be designed anywhere between 35 and 110 Hz, the same as a biological whisker, by choosing different materials and physical dimensions. The control system of this sensor enables the whisker to vibrate between 5 and 236 Hz.

  20. Bubbles and breaking waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorpe, S. A.

    1980-01-01

    The physical processes which control the transfer of gases between the atmosphere and oceans or lakes are poorly understood. Clouds of micro-bubbles have been detected below the surface of Loch Ness when the wind is strong enough to cause the waves to break. The rate of transfer of gas into solution from these bubbles is estimated to be significant if repeated on a global scale. We present here further evidence that the bubbles are caused by breaking waves, and discuss the relationship between the mean frequency of wave breaking at a fixed point and the average distance between breaking waves, as might be estimated from an aerial photograph.

  1. Spectroscopic studies of carbon containing molecules and their break-up in PISCES-A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pospieszczyk, A.; Ra, Y.; Hirooka, Y.; Conn, R.W.; Goebel, D.M.; LaBombard, B.; Nygren, R.E.

    1989-12-01

    We have used the PISCES-A facility in order to study the behavior of carbon containing molecules in a representative plasma with parameters close to that of a tokamak boundary layer, CH 4 , C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 4 , CO, and CO 2 molecules were introduced through a slit aperture into a helium plasma and the radiation from these due to electronic excitation was spectrographically recorded. The imaging of the plasma onto the entrance slit of a 1.33m McPherson optical spectrometer was chosen in such a way that simultaneous information about spectral and spatial distribution of the emission could be obtained by an attached photographic camera and an optical multichannel analyser (OMA). The recorded spectra show that many features in previously obtained spectra from limiters originate -- beside from hydrocarbons -- from carbonoxides, which seem to play a major role in the transport of carbon and oxygen. It was also possible to calibrate the radiation intensity of several molecular bands versus the known molecular influx so that an absolute determination of these fluxes from the wall of a fusion device could be done. Measurements of the attenuation of the individual species were carried out, which describe the penetration of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms into a discharge by taking into account individual steps in the molecular breakup process. 36 refs., 35 figs

  2. Subependymal Heterotopia Mimicking Mass in Conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Demonstration With 3T Advanced Neuroimages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktas, Filiz; Ogul, Hayri

    2017-10-01

    The authors reported a rare patient with large subependymal heterotopia mimicking cerebral neoplasia. A 22-year-old female was admitted with a history of right-sided paresthesia accompanied by progressive headache. Cerebral magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed a large solid lesion in the left frontal lobe. Advanced MR images proved that the lesion was compatible with subependymal heterotopia. Large subependymal heterotopia may mimick cerebral neoplasia.

  3. Autoimmunity to Tropomyosin-Specific Peptides Induced by Mycobacterium leprae in Leprosy Patients: Identification of Mimicking Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Itu; Yadav, Asha Ram; Mohanty, Keshar Kunja; Katoch, Kiran; Sharma, Prashant; Pathak, Vinay Kumar; Bisht, Deepa; Gupta, Umesh D; Sengupta, Utpal

    2018-01-01

    It has been shown earlier that there is a rise in the levels of autoantibodies and T cell response to cytoskeletal proteins in leprosy. Our group recently demonstrated a rise in both T and B cell responses to keratin and myelin basic protein in all types of leprosy patients and their associations in type 1 reaction (T1R) group of leprosy. In this study, we investigated the association of levels of autoantibodies and lymphoproliferation against myosin in leprosy patients across the spectrum and tried to find out the mimicking proteins or epitopes between host protein and protein/s of Mycobacterium leprae . One hundred and sixty-nine leprosy patients and 55 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled in the present study. Levels of anti-myosin antibodies and T-cell responses against myosin were measured by ELISA and lymphoproliferation assay, respectively. Using 2-D gel electrophoresis, western blot and MALDI-TOF/TOF antibody-reactive spots were identified. Three-dimensional structure of mimicking proteins was modeled by online server. B cell epitopes of the proteins were predicted by BCPREDS server 1.0 followed by identification of mimicking epitopes. Mice of inbred BALB/c strain were hyperimmunized with M. leprae soluble antigen (MLSA) and splenocytes and lymph node cells of these animals were adoptively transferred to naïve mice. Highest level of anti-myosin antibodies was noted in sera of T1R leprosy patients. We observed significantly higher levels of lymphoproliferative response ( p  leprae . We found four mimicking epitopes between these sequences. These data suggest that these mimicking proteins tropomyosin and ATP-dependent Clp protease ATP-binding subunit of M. leprae or more precisely mimicking epitopes (four B cell epitopes) might be responsible for extensive tissue damage during type1 reaction in leprosy.

  4. Hollow agarose microneedle with silver coating for intradermal surface-enhanced Raman measurements: a skin-mimicking phantom study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuen, Clement; Liu, Quan

    2015-06-01

    Human intradermal components contain important clinical information beneficial to the field of immunology and disease diagnosis. Although microneedles have shown great potential to act as probes to break the human skin barrier for the minimally invasive measurement of intradermal components, metal microneedles that include stainless steel could cause the following problems: (1) sharp waste production, and (2) contamination due to reuse of microneedles especially in developing regions. In this study, we fabricate agarose microneedles coated with a layer of silver (Ag) and demonstrate their use as a probe for the realization of intradermal surface-enhanced Raman scattering measurements in a set of skin-mimicking phantoms. The Ag-coated agarose microneedle quantifies a range of glucose concentrations from 5 to 150 mM inside the skin phantoms with a root-mean-square error of 5.1 mM within 10 s. The needle is found enlarged by 53.9% after another 6 min inside the phantom. The shape-changing capability of this agarose microneedle ensures that the reuse of these microneedles is impossible, thus avoiding sharp waste production and preventing needle contamination, which shows the great potential for safe and effective needle-based measurements.

  5. Friedreich's ataxia mimicking hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panas, Marios; Kalfakis, Nikolaos; Karadima, Georgia; Davaki, Panagiota; Vassilopoulos, Demetris

    2002-11-01

    Four patients from three unrelated families, with clinical and electrophysiological findings compatible with the diagnosis of hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, are presented. The molecular analysis showed that the affected individuals were homozygous for the mutation in the X25 gene, characteristic of Friedreich's ataxia. These patients seem to represent a form of Friedreich's ataxia mimicking Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

  6. Mechanical model of human eye compliance for volumetric occlusion break surge measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyk, David W; Miller, Kevin M

    2018-02-01

    To develop a mechanical model of human eye compliance for volumetric studies. Alcon Research, Ltd., Lake Forest, California, USA. Experimental study. Enucleated human eyes underwent pressurization and depressurization cycles with peak intraocular pressures (IOPs) of 60 to 100 mm Hg; anterior chamber pressure and volume changes were measured. Average net volume change curves were calculated as a function of IOP for each eye. Overall mean volumes were computed from each eye's average results at pressure points extrapolated over the range of 5 to 90 mm Hg. A 2-term exponential function was fit to these results. A fluid chamber with a displaceable piston was created as a mechanical model of this equation. A laser confocal displacement meter was used to measure piston displacement. A test bed incorporated the mechanical model with a mounted phacoemulsification probe and allowed for simulated occlusion breaks. Surge volume was calculated from piston displacement. An exponential function, V = C 1 × exp(C 2 × IOP) + C 3  × exp(C 4  × IOP) - V 0 , where V, the volume, was fit to the final depressurization curve obtained from 15 enucleated human eyes. The C 1 through C 4 values were -0.07141, -0.23055, -0.14972, and -0.02006, respectively. The equation was modeled using a piston system with 3 parallel springs that engaged serially. The mechanical model mimicked depressurization curves observed in human cadaver eyes. The resulting mechanical compliance model measured ocular volumetric changes and thus would be helpful in characterizing the postocclusion break surge response. Copyright © 2018 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. A model of intrinsic symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ge, Li; Li, Sheng; George, Thomas F.; Sun, Xin

    2013-01-01

    Different from the symmetry breaking associated with a phase transition, which occurs when the controlling parameter is manipulated across a critical point, the symmetry breaking presented in this Letter does not need parameter manipulation. Instead, the system itself suddenly undergoes symmetry breaking at a certain time during its evolution, which is intrinsic symmetry breaking. Through a polymer model, it is revealed that the origin of the intrinsic symmetry breaking is nonlinearity, which produces instability at the instance when the evolution crosses an inflexion point, where this instability breaks the original symmetry

  8. Autoimmunity to Tropomyosin-Specific Peptides Induced by Mycobacterium leprae in Leprosy Patients: Identification of Mimicking Proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Itu Singh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundIt has been shown earlier that there is a rise in the levels of autoantibodies and T cell response to cytoskeletal proteins in leprosy. Our group recently demonstrated a rise in both T and B cell responses to keratin and myelin basic protein in all types of leprosy patients and their associations in type 1 reaction (T1R group of leprosy.ObjectivesIn this study, we investigated the association of levels of autoantibodies and lymphoproliferation against myosin in leprosy patients across the spectrum and tried to find out the mimicking proteins or epitopes between host protein and protein/s of Mycobacterium leprae.MethodologyOne hundred and sixty-nine leprosy patients and 55 healthy controls (HC were enrolled in the present study. Levels of anti-myosin antibodies and T-cell responses against myosin were measured by ELISA and lymphoproliferation assay, respectively. Using 2-D gel electrophoresis, western blot and MALDI-TOF/TOF antibody-reactive spots were identified. Three-dimensional structure of mimicking proteins was modeled by online server. B cell epitopes of the proteins were predicted by BCPREDS server 1.0 followed by identification of mimicking epitopes. Mice of inbred BALB/c strain were hyperimmunized with M. leprae soluble antigen (MLSA and splenocytes and lymph node cells of these animals were adoptively transferred to naïve mice.ResultsHighest level of anti-myosin antibodies was noted in sera of T1R leprosy patients. We observed significantly higher levels of lymphoproliferative response (p < 0.05 with myosin in all types of leprosy patients compared to HC. Further, hyperimmunization of inbred BALB/c strain of female mice and rabbit with MLSA revealed that both hyperimmunized rabbit and mice evoked heightened levels of antibodies against myosin and this autoimmune response could be adoptively transferred from hyperimmunized to naïve mice. Tropomyosin was found to be mimicking with ATP-dependent Clp protease ATP

  9. Simulation of breaking waves using the high-order spectral method with laboratory experiments: Wave-breaking onset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seiffert, Betsy R.; Ducrozet, Guillaume; Bonnefoy, Félicien

    2017-11-01

    This study investigates a wave-breaking onset criteria to be implemented in the non-linear potential flow solver HOS-NWT. The model is a computationally efficient, open source code, which solves for the free surface in a numerical wave tank using the High-Order Spectral (HOS) method. The goal of this study is to determine the best method to identify the onset of random single and multiple breaking waves over a large domain at the exact time they occur. To identify breaking waves, a breaking onset criteria based on the ratio of local energy flux velocity to the local crest velocity, introduced by Barthelemy et al. (2017) is selected. The breaking parameter is uniquely applied in the numerical model in that calculations of the breaking onset criteria ratio are not made only at the location of the wave crest, but at every point in the domain and at every time step. This allows the model to calculate the onset of a breaking wave the moment it happens, and without knowing anything about the wave a priori. The application of the breaking criteria at every point in the domain and at every time step requires the phase velocity to be calculated instantaneously everywhere in the domain and at every time step. This is achieved by calculating the instantaneous phase velocity using the Hilbert transform and dispersion relation. A comparison between more traditional crest-tracking techniques shows the calculation of phase velocity using Hilbert transform at the location of the breaking wave crest provides a good approximation of crest velocity. The ability of the selected wave breaking criteria to predict single and multiple breaking events in two dimensions is validated by a series of large-scale experiments. Breaking waves are generated by energy focusing and modulational instability methods, with a wide range of primary frequencies. Steep irregular waves which lead to breaking waves, and irregular waves with an energy focusing wave superimposed are also generated. This set of

  10. Modulation and Control of Charge Transport Through Single-Molecule Junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kun; Xu, Bingqian

    2017-02-01

    The ability to modulate and control charge transport though single-molecule junction devices is crucial to achieving the ultimate goal of molecular electronics: constructing real-world-applicable electronic components from single molecules. This review aims to highlight the progress made in single-molecule electronics, emphasizing the development of molecular junction electronics in recent years. Among many techniques that attempt to wire a molecule to metallic electrodes, the single-molecule break junction (SMBJ) technique is one of the most reliable and tunable experimental platforms for achieving metal-molecule-metal configurations. It also provides great freedom to tune charge transport through the junction. Soon after the SMBJ technique was introduced, it was extensively used to measure the conductances of individual molecules; however, different conductances were obtained for the same molecule, and it proved difficult to interpret this wide distribution of experimental data. This phenomenon was later found to be mainly due to a lack of precise experimental control and advanced data analysis methods. In recent years, researchers have directed considerable effort into advancing the SMBJ technique by gaining a deeper physical understanding of charge transport through single molecules and thus enhancing its potential applicability in functional molecular-scale electronic devices, such as molecular diodes and molecular transistors. In parallel with that research, novel data analysis methods and approaches that enable the discovery of hidden yet important features in the data are being developed. This review discusses various aspects of molecular junction electronics, from the initial goal of molecular electronics, the development of experimental techniques for creating single-molecule junctions and determining single-molecule conductance, to the characterization of functional current-voltage features and the investigation of physical properties other than charge

  11. Collective effects, relaxation and localization of hole levels in atoms, molecules, solids, and adsorbates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wendin, G.

    1979-01-01

    Recent progress in descriptions of photoelectron spectra is reviewed with emphasis on cases where the one-electron and quasi-particle approximations break down and the hole level becomes spread over a number of discrete lines or a continuum or both. Unifying aspects and similarities between interaction processes in atoms, molecules and solids are stressed. 38 references

  12. Protein dynamics during presynaptic complex assembly on individual ssDNA molecules

    OpenAIRE

    Gibb, Bryan; Ye, Ling F.; Kwon, YoungHo; Niu, Hengyao; Sung, Patrick; Greene, Eric C.

    2014-01-01

    Homologous recombination is a conserved pathway for repairing double?stranded breaks, which are processed to yield single?stranded DNA overhangs that serve as platforms for presynaptic complex assembly. Here we use single?molecule imaging to reveal the interplay between Saccharomyce cerevisiae RPA, Rad52, and Rad51 during presynaptic complex assembly. We show that Rad52 binds RPA?ssDNA and suppresses RPA turnover, highlighting an unanticipated regulatory influence on protein dynamics. Rad51 b...

  13. Site-specific fragmentation of polystyrene molecule using size-selected Ar gas cluster ion beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moritani, Kousuke; Mukai, Gen; Hashinokuchi, Michihiro; Mochiji, Kozo

    2009-01-01

    The secondary ion mass spectrum (SIMS) of a polystyrene thin film was investigated using a size-selected Ar gas cluster ion beam (GCIB). The fragmentation in the SIM spectrum varied by kinetic energy per atom (E atom ); the E atom dependence of the secondary ion intensity of the fragment species of polystyrene can be essentially classified into three types based on the relationship between E atom and the dissociation energy of a specific bonding site in the molecule. These results indicate that adjusting E atom of size-selected GCIB may realize site-specific bond breaking within a molecule. (author)

  14. Gauge symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weinberg, S.

    1976-01-01

    The problem of how gauge symmetries of the weak interactions get broken is discussed. Some reasons why such a heirarchy of gauge symmetry breaking is needed, the reason gauge heirarchies do not seem to arise in theories of a given and related type, and the implications of theories with dynamical symmetry breaking, which can exhibit a gauge hierarchy

  15. Time-dependent local-to-normal mode transition in triatomic molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, Hans; Bermúdez-Montaña, Marisol; Lemus, Renato

    2018-01-01

    Time-evolution of the vibrational states of two interacting harmonic oscillators in the local mode scheme is presented. A local-to-normal mode transition (LNT) is identified and studied from temporal perspective through time-dependent frequencies of the oscillators. The LNT is established as a polyad-breaking phenomenon from the local standpoint for the stretching degrees of freedom in a triatomic molecule. This study is carried out in the algebraic representation of bosonic operators. The dynamics of the states are determined via the solutions of the corresponding nonlinear Ermakov equation and a local time-dependent polyad is obtained as a tool to identify the LNT. Applications of this formalism to H2O, CO2, O3 and NO2 molecules in the adiabatic, sudden and linear regime are considered.

  16. Breaking the polar-nonpolar division in solvation free energy prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bao; Wang, Chengzhang; Wu, Kedi; Wei, Guo-Wei

    2018-02-05

    Implicit solvent models divide solvation free energies into polar and nonpolar additive contributions, whereas polar and nonpolar interactions are inseparable and nonadditive. We present a feature functional theory (FFT) framework to break this ad hoc division. The essential ideas of FFT are as follows: (i) representability assumption: there exists a microscopic feature vector that can uniquely characterize and distinguish one molecule from another; (ii) feature-function relationship assumption: the macroscopic features, including solvation free energy, of a molecule is a functional of microscopic feature vectors; and (iii) similarity assumption: molecules with similar microscopic features have similar macroscopic properties, such as solvation free energies. Based on these assumptions, solvation free energy prediction is carried out in the following protocol. First, we construct a molecular microscopic feature vector that is efficient in characterizing the solvation process using quantum mechanics and Poisson-Boltzmann theory. Microscopic feature vectors are combined with macroscopic features, that is, physical observable, to form extended feature vectors. Additionally, we partition a solvation dataset into queries according to molecular compositions. Moreover, for each target molecule, we adopt a machine learning algorithm for its nearest neighbor search, based on the selected microscopic feature vectors. Finally, from the extended feature vectors of obtained nearest neighbors, we construct a functional of solvation free energy, which is employed to predict the solvation free energy of the target molecule. The proposed FFT model has been extensively validated via a large dataset of 668 molecules. The leave-one-out test gives an optimal root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 1.05 kcal/mol. FFT predictions of SAMPL0, SAMPL1, SAMPL2, SAMPL3, and SAMPL4 challenge sets deliver the RMSEs of 0.61, 1.86, 1.64, 0.86, and 1.14 kcal/mol, respectively. Using a test set of 94

  17. Central skeletal sarcoidosis mimicking metastatic disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talmi, Danit; Smith, Stacy; Mulligan, Michael E.

    2008-01-01

    Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease that histologically typically shows non-caseating granulomas. The most common radiologic finding is hilar and mediastinal adenopathy. Patients with widely disseminated disease may show involvement of the peripheral appendicular skeleton in 1-13% of such cases. A primary skeletal presentation without other manifestations typical of the disease is rare. We present a case of sarcoidosis in a middle-aged Caucasian man in whom the disease presented with widespread lytic lesions in the axial skeleton and long bones, mimicking metastatic disease. There was no involvement of the peripheral skeleton, skin or lungs. (orig.)

  18. Evaluation of tomosynthesis elastography in a breast-mimicking phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engelken, Florian Jan; Sack, Ingolf; Klatt, Dieter; Fischer, Thomas; Fallenberg, Eva Maria; Bick, Ulrich; Diekmann, Felix

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate whether measurement of strain under static compression in tomosynthesis of a breast-mimicking phantom can be used to distinguish tumor-simulating lesions of different elasticities and to compare the results to values predicted by rheometric analysis as well as results of ultrasound elastography. Materials and methods: We prepared three soft breast-mimicking phantoms containing simulated tumors of different elasticities. The phantoms were imaged using a wide angle tomosynthesis system with increasing compression settings ranging from 0 N to 105 N in steps of 15 N. Strain of the inclusions was measured in two planes using a commercially available mammography workstation. The elasticity of the phantom matrix and inclusion material was determined by rheometric analysis. Ultrasound elastography of the inclusions was performed using two different ultrasound elastography algorithms. Results: Strain at maximal compression was 24.4%/24.5% in plane 1/plane 2, respectively, for the soft inclusion, 19.6%/16.9% for the intermediate inclusion, and 6.0%/10.2% for the firm inclusion. The strain ratios predicted by rheometrical testing were 0.41, 0.83 and 1.26 for the soft, intermediate, and firm inclusions, respectively. The strain ratios obtained for the soft, intermediate, and firm inclusions were 0.72 ± 0.13, 1.02 ± 0.21 and 2.67 ± 1.70, respectively for tomosynthesis elastography, 0.91, 1.64 and 2.07, respectively, for ultrasound tissue strain imaging, and 0.97, 2.06 and 2.37, respectively, for ultrasound real-time elastography. Conclusions: Differentiation of tumor-simulating inclusions by elasticity in a breast mimicking phantom may be possible by measuring strain in tomosynthesis. This method may be useful for assessing elasticity of breast lesions tomosynthesis of the breast

  19. Spinal MRI of vincristine neuropathy mimicking Guillain-Barre syndrome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Yun Woo; Yoon, Hye-Kyung; Cho, Jae Min [Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Centre, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Kangnam-gu, Seoul 135-710 (Korea); Sung, Ki Woong [Department of Paediatrics, Samsung Medical Centre, Seoul 135-710 (Korea)

    2003-11-01

    A 4.3-year-old girl with acute leukaemia, who was being treated with chemotherapy (including vincristine), developed paraplegia. Spinal MRI showed diffusely enhancing nerve roots on contrast-enhanced images. Spinal fluid analysis showed a normal protein level. Vincristine neuropathy mimicking Guillain-Barre syndrome is thought to be the cause of the MRI abnormalities. (orig.)

  20. Spinal MRI of vincristine neuropathy mimicking Guillain-Barre syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Yun Woo; Yoon, Hye-Kyung; Cho, Jae Min; Sung, Ki Woong

    2003-01-01

    A 4.3-year-old girl with acute leukaemia, who was being treated with chemotherapy (including vincristine), developed paraplegia. Spinal MRI showed diffusely enhancing nerve roots on contrast-enhanced images. Spinal fluid analysis showed a normal protein level. Vincristine neuropathy mimicking Guillain-Barre syndrome is thought to be the cause of the MRI abnormalities. (orig.)

  1. Primary intraosseous squamous cell carcinoma mimicking periapical disease: a case report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Yoon Joo; Oh, Song Hee; Kang, Ju Han; Choi, Hwa Young; Kim, Gyu Tae; Choi, Yong Suk; Hwang, Eui Hwan [Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Kyung Hee University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yu, Jae June [Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-09-15

    Primary intraosseous squamous cell carcinoma (PIOSCC) is a rare carcinoma, which arises within the jaws without connection to the oral mucosa and presumably develops from a remnant of odontogenic epithelium. We present a case of solid type PIOSCC in a 52-year-old male patient complaining of dull pain on his left lower molar. In this case, early stage PIOSCC mimicking a periapical lesion might lead to a one-year delay in treatment due to the misdiagnosis of osteomyelitis after extraction of the third molar. The clinical, radiological, and histologic features are described. In this case, there was initial radiographic evidence for PIOSCC mimicking a periapical lesion. Incautious radiographic interpretation and treatment procedures had delayed the correct diagnosis and resulted in extensive bony destruction during the patient's disease progression.

  2. Dynamic breaking of a single gold bond

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pobelov, Ilya V.; Lauritzen, Kasper Primdal; Yoshida, Koji

    2017-01-01

    While one might assume that the force to break a chemical bond gives a measure of the bond strength, this intuition is misleading. If the force is loaded slowly, thermal fluctuations may break the bond before it is maximally stretched, and the breaking force will be less than the bond can sustain...... of a single Au-Au bond and show that the breaking force is dependent on the loading rate. We probe the temperature and structural dependencies of breaking and suggest that the paradox can be explained by fast breaking of atomic wires and slow breaking of point contacts giving very similar breaking forces....

  3. Single-Molecule Electrochemical Transistor Utilizing a Nickel-Pyridyl Spinterface

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brooke, Richard J.; Jin, Chengjun; Szumski, Doug S.

    2015-01-01

    Using a scanning tunnelling microscope break-junction technique, we produce 4,4′-bipyridine (44BP) single-molecule junctions with Ni and Au contacts. Electrochemical control is used to prevent Ni oxidation and to modulate the conductance of the devices via nonredox gating - the first time this has...... been shown using non-Au contacts. Remarkably the conductance and gain of the resulting Ni-44BP-Ni electrochemical transistors is significantly higher than analogous Au-based devices. Ab-initio calculations reveal that this behavior arises because charge transport is mediated by spin-polarized Ni d...

  4. Electroweak breaking in supersymmetric models

    CERN Document Server

    Ibáñez, L E

    1992-01-01

    We discuss the mechanism for electroweak symmetry breaking in supersymmetric versions of the standard model. After briefly reviewing the possible sources of supersymmetry breaking, we show how the required pattern of symmetry breaking can automatically result from the structure of quantum corrections in the theory. We demonstrate that this radiative breaking mechanism works well for a heavy top quark and can be combined in unified versions of the theory with excellent predictions for the running couplings of the model. (To be published in ``Perspectives in Higgs Physics'', G. Kane editor.)

  5. Adefovir-Induced Hypophosphatemic Osteomalacia Mimicking Bone Metastases From Primary Hepatocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Wei-Jun; Sun, Zhen-Kui; Shen, Chen-Tian; Qiu, Zhong-Ling; Luo, Quan-Yong

    2017-09-01

    Adefovir-induced hypophosphatemic osteomalacia in the context of hepatocarcinoma is rare and needs to be differentiated from metastatic hepatocarcinoma. We here report a case of severe osteomalacia whose focal uptakes of radiotracer on the Tc-MDP SPECT/CT images mimicked that of metastatic hepatocarcinoma.

  6. Simulation of breaking waves using the high-order spectral method with laboratory experiments: wave-breaking energy dissipation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seiffert, Betsy R.; Ducrozet, Guillaume

    2018-01-01

    We examine the implementation of a wave-breaking mechanism into a nonlinear potential flow solver. The success of the mechanism will be studied by implementing it into the numerical model HOS-NWT, which is a computationally efficient, open source code that solves for the free surface in a numerical wave tank using the high-order spectral (HOS) method. Once the breaking mechanism is validated, it can be implemented into other nonlinear potential flow models. To solve for wave-breaking, first a wave-breaking onset parameter is identified, and then a method for computing wave-breaking associated energy loss is determined. Wave-breaking onset is calculated using a breaking criteria introduced by Barthelemy et al. (J Fluid Mech https://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.06002.pdf, submitted) and validated with the experiments of Saket et al. (J Fluid Mech 811:642-658, 2017). Wave-breaking energy dissipation is calculated by adding a viscous diffusion term computed using an eddy viscosity parameter introduced by Tian et al. (Phys Fluids 20(6): 066,604, 2008, Phys Fluids 24(3), 2012), which is estimated based on the pre-breaking wave geometry. A set of two-dimensional experiments is conducted to validate the implemented wave breaking mechanism at a large scale. Breaking waves are generated by using traditional methods of evolution of focused waves and modulational instability, as well as irregular breaking waves with a range of primary frequencies, providing a wide range of breaking conditions to validate the solver. Furthermore, adjustments are made to the method of application and coefficient of the viscous diffusion term with negligible difference, supporting the robustness of the eddy viscosity parameter. The model is able to accurately predict surface elevation and corresponding frequency/amplitude spectrum, as well as energy dissipation when compared with the experimental measurements. This suggests the model is capable of calculating wave-breaking onset and energy dissipation

  7. SU-F-T-433: Evaluation of a New Dose Mimicking Application for Clinical Flexibility and Reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, D; Nair, C Kumaran; Wright, C; Yamamoto, T; Mayadev, J; Valicenti, R; Benedict, S; Rong, Y; Markham, J

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Clinical workflow and machine down time occasionally require patients to be temporarily treated on a system other than the initial treatment machine. A new commercial dose mimicking application provides automated cross-platform treatment planning to expedite this clinical flexibility. The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of automatic plan creation and establish a robust clinical workflow for prostate and pelvis patients. Methods: Five prostate and five pelvis patients treated with helical plans were selected for re-planning with the dose mimicking application, covering both simple and complex scenarios. Two-arc VMAT and 7- and 9-field IMRT plans were generated for each case, with the objective function of achieving similar dose volume histogram from the initial helical plans. Dosimetric comparisons include target volumes and organs at risk (OARs) (rectum, bladder, small bowel, femoral heads, etc.). Dose mimicked plans were evaluated by a radiation oncologist, and patient-specific QAs were performed to validate delivery. Results: Overall plan generation and transfer required around 30 minutes of dosimetrist’s time once the dose-mimicking protocol is setup for each site. The resulting VMAT and 7- and 9-field IMRT plans achieved equivalent PTV coverage and homogeneity (D99/DRx = 97.3%, 97.2%, 97.2% and HI = 6.0, 5.8, and 5.9, respectively), compared to helical plans (97.6% and 4.6). The OAR dose discrepancies were up to 6% in rectum Dmean, but generally lower in bladder, femoral heads, bowel and penile bulb. In the context of 1–5 fractions, the radiation oncologist evaluated the dosimetric changes as not clinically significant. All delivery QAs achieved >90% pass with a 3%/3mm gamma criteria. Conclusion: The automated dose-mimicking workflow offers a strategy to avoid missing treatment fractions due to machine down time with non-clinically significant changes in dosimetry. Future work will further optimize dose mimicking plans and

  8. SU-F-T-433: Evaluation of a New Dose Mimicking Application for Clinical Flexibility and Reliability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoffman, D; Nair, C Kumaran; Wright, C; Yamamoto, T; Mayadev, J; Valicenti, R; Benedict, S; Rong, Y [University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA (United States); Markham, J [Raysearch Laboratories, Garden City, NY (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Clinical workflow and machine down time occasionally require patients to be temporarily treated on a system other than the initial treatment machine. A new commercial dose mimicking application provides automated cross-platform treatment planning to expedite this clinical flexibility. The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of automatic plan creation and establish a robust clinical workflow for prostate and pelvis patients. Methods: Five prostate and five pelvis patients treated with helical plans were selected for re-planning with the dose mimicking application, covering both simple and complex scenarios. Two-arc VMAT and 7- and 9-field IMRT plans were generated for each case, with the objective function of achieving similar dose volume histogram from the initial helical plans. Dosimetric comparisons include target volumes and organs at risk (OARs) (rectum, bladder, small bowel, femoral heads, etc.). Dose mimicked plans were evaluated by a radiation oncologist, and patient-specific QAs were performed to validate delivery. Results: Overall plan generation and transfer required around 30 minutes of dosimetrist’s time once the dose-mimicking protocol is setup for each site. The resulting VMAT and 7- and 9-field IMRT plans achieved equivalent PTV coverage and homogeneity (D99/DRx = 97.3%, 97.2%, 97.2% and HI = 6.0, 5.8, and 5.9, respectively), compared to helical plans (97.6% and 4.6). The OAR dose discrepancies were up to 6% in rectum Dmean, but generally lower in bladder, femoral heads, bowel and penile bulb. In the context of 1–5 fractions, the radiation oncologist evaluated the dosimetric changes as not clinically significant. All delivery QAs achieved >90% pass with a 3%/3mm gamma criteria. Conclusion: The automated dose-mimicking workflow offers a strategy to avoid missing treatment fractions due to machine down time with non-clinically significant changes in dosimetry. Future work will further optimize dose mimicking plans and

  9. An abdominal tuberculosis case mimicking an abdominal mass

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An abdominal tuberculosis case mimicking an abdominal mass. Derya Erdog˘ an a. , Yasemin Ta ¸scı Yıldız b. , Esin Cengiz Bodurog˘lu c and Naciye Go¨nu¨l Tanır d. Abdominal tuberculosis is rare in childhood. It may be difficult to diagnose as it mimics various disorders. We present a 12-year-old child with an unusual ...

  10. Calculation of near-edge x-ray-absorption fine structure at finite temperatures: Spectral signatures of hydrogen bond breaking in liquid water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hetenyi, Balazs; De Angelis, Filippo; Giannozzi, Paolo; Car, Roberto

    2004-01-01

    We calculate the near-edge x-ray-absorption fine structure of H 2 O in the gas, hexagonal ice, and liquid phases using heuristic density-functional based methods. We present a detailed comparison of our results with experiment. The differences between the ice and water spectra can be rationalized in terms of the breaking of hydrogen bonds around the absorbing molecule. In particular the increase in the pre-edge absorption feature from ice to water is shown to be due to the breaking of a donor hydrogen bond. We also find that in water approximately 19% of hydrogen bonds are broken

  11. Bombardment of gas molecules on single graphene layer at high temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murugesan, Ramki [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam 660-701 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Jae Hyun [Department of Aerospace and System Engineering and Research Center for Aircraft Parts Technology, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam 660-701 (Korea, Republic of); Ha, Dong Sung [Future Propulsion Center, Agency for Defense Development, Daejeon 305-600 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-12-09

    Graphite is widely used as a material for rocket-nozzle inserts due to its excellent thermo-physical properties as well as low density. During the operation of rockets, the surface of the graphite nozzle is subjected to very high heat fluxes and the undesirable erosion of the surface occurs due to the bombardment of gas molecules with high kinetic energy, which causes a significant reduction of nozzle performance. However, the understanding and quantification of such bombardment is not satisfactory due to its complexity: The bond breaking-forming happens simultaneously for the carbon atoms of graphene, some gas molecules penetrate through the surface, some of them are reflected from the surface, etc. In the present study, we perform extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to examine the bombardment phenomena in high temperature environment (several thousand Kelvin). Advanced from the previous studies that have focused on the bombardment by light molecules (e.g., H{sub 2}), we will concentrate on the impact by realistic molecules (e.g., CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O). LAMMPS is employed for the MD simulations with NVE ensemble and AIREBO potential for graphene. The molecular understanding of the interaction between graphene and highly energetic gas molecules will enable us to design an efficient thermo-mechanical protection system.

  12. Dual descriptions of supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Intrilligator, K.; Thomas, S.

    1996-08-01

    Dynamical supersymmetry breaking is considered in models which admit descriptions in terms of electric, confined, or magnetic degrees of freedom in various limits. In this way, a variety of seemingly different theories which break supersymmetry are actually interrelated by confinement or duality. Specific examples are given in which there are two dual descriptions of the supersymmetry breaking ground state

  13. Neoplastic stomach lesions and their mimickers: spectrum of imaging manifestations

    OpenAIRE

    Virmani, Vivek; Khandelwal, Ashish; Sethi, Vineeta; Fraser-Hill, Margret; Fasih, Najla; Kielar, Ania

    2012-01-01

    Abstract This review illustrates a wide spectrum of gastric neoplasms with emphasis on imaging findings helpful in characterizing various gastric neoplasms. Both the malignant and benign neoplasms along with focal gastric masses mimicking tumour are illustrated. Moreover, imaging clues to reach an accurate diagnosis are emphasized.

  14. Mimicking expressiveness of movements by autistic children in game play

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tetteroo, D.; Shirzad, A.; Serras Pereira, M.; Zwinderman, M.J.; Duy, L.; Barakova, E.I.

    2012-01-01

    Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)have marked impairments in social interaction. Imitation is a basic social interaction behavior, and mimicking as an element of imitation can be a diagnostic marker for autism and thus a skill that can be targeted by behavioral training. In a comparative

  15. Heparin-mimicking multilayer coating on polymeric membrane via LbL assembly of cyclodextrin-based supramolecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Jie; Liu, Xinyue; Ma, Lang; Cheng, Chong; Shi, Wenbin; Nie, Chuanxiong; Zhao, Changsheng

    2014-12-10

    In this study, multifunctional and heparin-mimicking star-shaped supramolecules-deposited 3D porous multilayer films with improved biocompatibility were fabricated via a layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly method on polymeric membrane substrates. Star-shaped heparin-mimicking polyanions (including poly(styrenesulfonate-co-sodium acrylate; Star-PSS-AANa) and poly(styrenesulfonate-co-poly(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate; Star-PSS-EGMA)) and polycations (poly(methyl chloride-quaternized 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate; Star-PMeDMA) were first synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) based cores. Then assembly of 3D porous multilayers onto polymeric membrane surfaces was carried out by alternating deposition of the polyanions and polycations via electrostatic interaction. The surface morphology and composition, water contact angle, blood activation, and thrombotic potential as well as cell viability for the coated heparin-mimicking films were systematically investigated. The results of surface ATR-FTIR spectra and XPS spectra verified successful deposition of the star-shaped supramolecules onto the biomedical membrane surfaces; scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations revealed that the modified substrate had 3D porous surface morphology, which might have a great biological influence on the biointerface. Furthermore, systematic in vitro investigation of protein adsorption, platelet adhesion, human platelet factor 4 (PF4, indicates platelet activation), activate partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), coagulation activation (thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT, indicates blood coagulant)), and blood-related complement activation (C3a and C5a, indicates inflammation potential) confirmed that the heparin-mimicking multilayer coated membranes exhibited ultralow blood component activations and excellent hemocompatibility. Meanwhile, after surface coating

  16. Structures of water molecules in carbon nanotubes under electric fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winarto,; Takaiwa, Daisuke; Yamamoto, Eiji; Yasuoka, Kenji

    2015-01-01

    Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising for water transport through membranes and for use as nano-pumps. The development of CNT-based nanofluidic devices, however, requires a better understanding of the properties of water molecules in CNTs because they can be very different from those in the bulk. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the effect of axial electric fields on the structure of water molecules in CNTs having diameters ranging from (7,7) to (10,10). The water dipole moments were aligned parallel to the electric field, which increases the density of water inside the CNTs and forms ordered ice-like structures. The electric field induces the transition from liquid to ice nanotubes in a wide range of CNT diameters. Moreover, we found an increase in the lifetime of hydrogen bonds for water structures in the CNTs. Fast librational motion breaks some hydrogen bonds, but the molecular pairs do not separate and the hydrogen bonds reform. Thus, hydrogen bonds maintain the water structure in the CNTs, and the water molecules move collectively, decreasing the axial diffusion coefficient and permeation rate

  17. R-parity breaking phenomenology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vissani, F.

    1996-02-01

    We review various features of the R-parity breaking phenomenology, with particular attention to the low energy observables, and to the patterns of the R-parity breaking interactions that arise in Grand Unified models. (author). 22 refs, 1 fig., 3 tabs

  18. Complete photo-fragmentation of the deuterium molecule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, Thorsten; Czasch, Achim O.; Jagutzki, Ottmar; Muller, Alkis K.; Mergel, Volker; Kheifets, A.; Rotenberg, Eli; Meigs, George; Prior, Mike H.; Daveau, Sebastian; Landers, Allen; Cocke, C.L.; Osipov, Timur; Diez Muino, Ricardo; Schmidt-Bocking, Horst; Dorner, Reinhard

    2004-01-01

    All properties of molecules, from binding and excitation energies to their geometry, are determined by the highly correlated initial state wavefunction of the electrons and nuclei. Perhaps surprisingly, details of these correlations can be revealed by studying the break-up of these systems into their constituents. The fragmentation might be initiated by the absorption of a single photon [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], collision with a charged particle [7, 8] or exposure to a strong laser pulse [9, 10]. If the exciting interaction is sufficiently understood, one can use the fragmentation process as a tool to learn about the bound initial state [11, 12]. However, often the interaction and the fragment motions pose formidable challenges to quantum theory [13, 14, 15]. Here we report the coincident measurement of the momenta of both nuclei and both electrons from the single photon induced fragmentation of the deuterium molecule. The results reveal that the correlated motion of the electrons is strongly dependent on the inter-nuclear separation in the molecular ground state at the instant of photon absorption

  19. Relative frequency of formation of base radioproduct, single and double strand breaks on irradiation of diluted aqueous solution of DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryznar, L.; Drasil, V.

    1975-01-01

    Diluted aqueous solution of DNA labelled with 6- 3 H-TdR was irradiated in the absence of oxygen and numbers of formed single and double strand breaks and the 5,6-dihydrothymine (DHT) yield were determined. The results indicate that, under given conditions, a molecule of a base radioproduct is formed approximately 10 times more frequently than one single strand break. The occurence of a single strand break is 20 times higher than that of a double strand break. The DNA labelled with 6- 3 H-TdR was isolated from mice fibroblasts of L-strain according to Marmur (specific activity 3.0 MBq/82 μCi/mg DNA, molecular weight M/sub n/=9.32x10 6 dalton). Solution of DNA was irradiated in the absence of oxygen (180 Gy /1.8x10 4 rads/, absorbed dose rate 0.3 Gy/s). It was lyophilized with an addition of non-labelled thymine, thymidine and DHT and then hydrolysed with 90% formic acid. The dried hydrolysate was chromatographed with irradiated non-labelled thymine added as a carrier. (F.G.)

  20. Fibromatosis of the breast mimicking an abscess: case report of unusual sonographic features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, So Min; Lee, Ji Young; Lee, Byung Hoon; Kim, Su Young; Joo, Mee; Kim, Jae Il

    2015-01-01

    Fibromatosis of the breast, also known as a desmoid tumor, is extremely rare and most often appears as an aggressive lesion mimicking breast carcinoma. It lacks metastatic potential but can grow aggressively in a localized area. Ultrasonography often shows an irregular spiculated hypoechoic mass with posterior acoustic shadowing. We discuss a case of breast fibromatosis that presented as a painful palpable breast mass in a 32-year-old woman and mimicked an abscess in the sonogram. We found that this lesion displayed atypical sonographic features such as a heterogeneous echoic mass with an internal anechoic area. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Primary Benign Intraosseous Meningioma on {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT Mimicking Malignancy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Ho Seong; Kim, Seok Hwi; Kim, Hyung Jin; Kang, Se Woong; Kim, Soo Jeong; Lee, Joo Hee; Hong, Sun Pyo; Cho, Young Seok; Choi, Joon Young [Sungkyunkwan Univ. School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-06-15

    We present a case of primary benign intraosseous meningioma in the sphenoid bone mimicking malignancy. A 44-year-old female patient who had a protruding right eye and headache came to our hospital. MRI showed a large, destructive, heterogeneously well-enhancing soft tissue mass in the right sphenoid bone suggesting malignancy. {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT showed a hypermetabolic mass in the same site with an SUV{sub max} of 9.1 The pathological diagnosis by surgery revealed that this tumor was a WHO grade I transitional meningioma. This case suggests that primary benign intraosseous meningioma may show high {sup 18}F-FDG uptake mimicking a malignancy.

  2. Subdural Hematoma Mimickers: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catana, Dragos; Koziarz, Alex; Cenic, Aleksa; Nath, Siddharth; Singh, Sheila; Almenawer, Saleh A; Kachur, Edward

    2016-09-01

    A variety of subdural pathologies that may mimic hematomas are reported in the literature. We aimed to identify the atypical clinical and radiologic presentations of subdural masses that may mimic subdural hematomas. A systematic review of MEDLINE and Embase was conducted independently by 2 reviewers to identify articles describing subdural hematoma mimickers. We also present a patient from our institution with a subdural pathology mimicking a subdural hematoma. We analyzed patient clinical presentations, underlying pathologies, radiologic findings, and clinical outcomes. We included 43 articles totaling 48 patients. The mean ± SD patient age was 55.7 ± 16.8 years. Of the 45 cases describing patient history, 13 patients (27%) had a history of trauma. The underlying pathologies of the 48 subdural collections were 10 metastasis (21%), 14 lymphoma (29%), 7 sarcoma (15%), 4 infectious (8%), 4 autoimmune (8%), and 9 miscellaneous (19%). Findings on computed tomography (CT) scan were 18 hyperdense (41%), 11 hypodense (25%), 9 isodense (20%), 3 isodense/hyperdense (7%), and 3 hypodense/isodense (7%). Thirty-four patients (71%) were treated surgically; among these patients, 65% had symptom resolution. Neither the pathology (P = 0.337) nor the management strategy (P = 0.671) was correlated with improved functional outcomes. Identification of atypical history and radiologic features should prompt further diagnostic tests, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to elucidate the proper diagnosis, given that certain pathologies may be managed nonsurgically. A subdural collection that is hyperdense on CT scan and hyperintense on T2-weighted MRI, along with a history of progressive headache with no trauma, may raise the suspicion of an atypical subdural pathology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Primary Papillary Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Ureter Mimicking Genitourinary Tuberculosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulwani, Hanni; Jain, Aruna

    2010-01-01

    Primary adenocarcinomas of the renal pelvis and ureter are rare and account for less than 1% of all malignancies at this site. We report a case of primary papillary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the ureter that clinically mimicked genitourinary tuberculosis. Early diagnosis is important for the better outcome. PMID:21151719

  4. Comparison of the DVI line break LOCA with the equivalent cold leg break with the ATLAS facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, K. Y.; Cho, S.; Kang, K. H.; Park, H. S.; Kim, Y. S.; Baek, W. P.

    2010-01-01

    The APR1400 (Advanced Power Reactor, 1400 MWe) adopts a DVI (Direct Vessel Injection) method for ECC (Emergency Core Cooling) water delivery rather than a conventional CLI (Cold Leg Injection) method as an advanced safety feature. The break scenario of one DVI nozzle is taken into account in the small break LOCA analysis. Transient behavior during the DVI line breaks needs to be investigated and compared with the equivalent break on the cold leg. An 8.5-inch double-ended break of one DVI nozzle was simulated with the ATLAS, and a counterpart test for the DVI break was performed at the cold leg with the equivalent break size for comparison. This comparison will contribute to enhancing a comprehensive understanding of the thermal hydraulic behavior during transients. A constructed integral effect database is also used to validate the existing conservative safety analysis methodology and to develop a best-estimate safety analysis methodology for small-break LOCAs. A post-test calculation was performed with a best-estimate safety analysis code, MARS 3.1, in order to examine its prediction capability and to identify any code deficiencies for thermal hydraulic phenomena occurring during the transient. (authors)

  5. Hypertrophic Nonunion Humerus Mimicking an Enchondroma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. K. Magu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Although fractures of humeral shaft show excellent results with conservative management, nonunion does occur. Case Report. We bring forth the case of a young male with a 1.5-year-old hypertrophic nonunion of the humerus mimicking an enchondroma. The initial X-ray images of the patient appeared to be an enchondroma, which only on further evaluation and histopathological analysis was diagnosed conclusively to be a hypertrophic nonunion. Discussion. Enchondromas are often incidentally diagnosed benign tumours. It is however not common to misdiagnose a hypertrophic nonunion to be an enchondroma. We present this case to highlight the unique diagnostic dilemma the treating team had to face.

  6. Cogan's syndrome mimicking acute Lyme arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwegmann, J P; Enzenauer, R J

    1995-05-01

    A pediatric case of Cogan's syndrome mimicking acute Lyme arthritis is described. A 12-year-old black boy was admitted to the pediatric service for presumed right knee septic arthritis. Symptoms included acute pain and swelling with decreased range-of-motion. Although the patient's right knee symptoms and positive Lyme serology were consistent with a diagnosis of Lyme arthritis, the presence of sensorineural hearing loss and interstitial keratitis with inflammatory arthritis suggested a diagnosis of Cogan's syndrome. Subsequent Western blot analysis was negative for Borrelia burgdorferi antigens. The patient had dramatic clinical improvement of musculoskeletal and ophthalmologic complaints shortly after receiving high-dose corticosteroids, although residual sensorineural hearing loss persisted.

  7. Fast Rotational Diffusion of Water Molecules in a 2D Hydrogen Bond Network at Cryogenic Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prisk, T. R.; Hoffmann, C.; Kolesnikov, A. I.; Mamontov, E.; Podlesnyak, A. A.; Wang, X.; Kent, P. R. C.; Anovitz, L. M.

    2018-05-01

    Individual water molecules or small clusters of water molecules contained within microporous minerals present an extreme case of confinement where the local structure of hydrogen bond networks are dramatically altered from bulk water. In the zinc silicate hemimorphite, the water molecules form a two-dimensional hydrogen bond network with hydroxyl groups in the crystal framework. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the structure and dynamics of water molecules within this network. The water molecules undergo a continuous phase transition in their orientational configuration analogous to a two-dimensional Ising model. The incoherent dynamic structure factor reveals two thermally activated relaxation processes, one on a subpicosecond timescale and another on a 10-100 ps timescale, between 70 and 130 K. The slow process is an in-plane reorientation of the water molecule involving the breaking of hydrogen bonds with a framework that, despite the low temperatures involved, is analogous to rotational diffusion of water molecules in the bulk liquid. The fast process is a localized motion of the water molecule with no apparent analogs among known bulk or confined phases of water.

  8. Conformational Smear Characterization and Binning of Single-Molecule Conductance Measurements for Enhanced Molecular Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korshoj, Lee E; Afsari, Sepideh; Chatterjee, Anushree; Nagpal, Prashant

    2017-11-01

    Electronic conduction or charge transport through single molecules depends primarily on molecular structure and anchoring groups and forms the basis for a wide range of studies from molecular electronics to DNA sequencing. Several high-throughput nanoelectronic methods such as mechanical break junctions, nanopores, conductive atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling break junctions, and static nanoscale electrodes are often used for measuring single-molecule conductance. In these measurements, "smearing" due to conformational changes and other entropic factors leads to large variances in the observed molecular conductance, especially in individual measurements. Here, we show a method for characterizing smear in single-molecule conductance measurements and demonstrate how binning measurements according to smear can significantly enhance the use of individual conductance measurements for molecular recognition. Using quantum point contact measurements on single nucleotides within DNA macromolecules, we demonstrate that the distance over which molecular junctions are maintained is a measure of smear, and the resulting variance in unbiased single measurements depends on this smear parameter. Our ability to identify individual DNA nucleotides at 20× coverage increases from 81.3% accuracy without smear analysis to 93.9% with smear characterization and binning (SCRIB). Furthermore, merely 7 conductance measurements (7× coverage) are needed to achieve 97.8% accuracy for DNA nucleotide recognition when only low molecular smear measurements are used, which represents a significant improvement over contemporary sequencing methods. These results have important implications in a broad range of molecular electronics applications from designing robust molecular switches to nanoelectronic DNA sequencing.

  9. Radiation-chemical discussion on inverse dose-rate effect observed in radiation-induced strand breaks of plasmid DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masuda, Takahiro

    1994-01-01

    Experimental results of inverse dose-rate effect, so-called Kada Effects, which was published by Takakura and her coworkers on radiation-induced strand breaks of plasmid DNA in aerated aqueous solution, have been kinetically analyzed and discussed on the basis of radiation chemistry. the kinetic analysis indicates that there are two possible mechanisms; 1) equilibrium mixture of O 2 - and HO 2 is responsible for strand breaks of DNA, and 2) peroxyl radical produced from citrate is effective for the strand breaks. However, the detailed kinetic analysis revealed that the latter is improbable because unimolecular decay of the peroxyl radical must be assumed to be negligible for its participation despite fast decay of analogous organic peroxyl radicals. The analysis has also given 9.93±0.10 dm 3 mol -1 s -1 per nucleotide unit, which corresponds to 7.62 x 10 4 dm 3 mol -1 s -1 per DNA molecule, as the rate constant for the reaction of the equilibrium mixture with plasmid pBR 322 DNA. Furthermore the probability that the reaction of the mixture with a nucleotide unit of DNA leads to strand breaks was obtained to be 3.36 x 10 -3 for gamma-irradiated system and 1.98 x 10 -3 for beta-irradiated system, respectively. (author)

  10. Remote Cutaneous Breast Carcinoma Metastasis Mimicking Dermatitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annakan V Navaratnam

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Cutaneous metastases from primary internal malignancies are an uncommon presentation. Cutaneous metastases are more frequently seen in breast cancer than in any other visceral malignancy in women. Medical practitioners should be vigilant of the possibility of unusual presentations of metastatic disease in breast cancer patients with lobular carcinoma presenting as cutaneous lesions mimicking benign dermatological conditions. Herein, we present a case of a 75-year-old woman presenting with cutaneous lobular breast carcinoma metastases on her anterior right leg, which had previously been misdiagnosed as dermatitis for 9 years.

  11. Being Mimicked Increases Prosocial Behavior in 18-Month-Old Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Malinda; Uebel, Johanna; Tomasello, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Most previous research on imitation in infancy has focused on infants' learning of instrumental actions on objects. This study focused instead on the more social side of imitation, testing whether being mimicked increases prosocial behavior in infants, as it does in adults (van Baaren, Holland, Kawakami, & van Knippenberg, 2004).…

  12. Primary Papillary Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Ureter Mimicking Genitourinary Tuberculosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanni Gulwani

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Primary adenocarcinomas of the renal pelvis and ureter are rare and account for less than 1% of all malignancies at this site. We report a case of primary papillary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the ureter that clinically mimicked genitourinary tuberculosis. Early diagnosis is important for the better outcome.

  13. The Break

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strand, Anete Mikkala Camille

    2018-01-01

    storytelling to enact fruitful breakings of patterns unbecoming. The claim being, that the hamster wheel of Work-life anno 2016 needs reconfiguration and the simple yet fruitful manner by which this is done is through acknowledging the benefits of bodies, spaces and artifacts – and the benefits of actually...... taking a break, discontinuing for a moment in order to continue better, wiser and more at ease. Both within and as part of the daily routines, and – now and then – outside these routines in the majesty of nature with time to explore and redirect the course of life in companionships with fellow man...

  14. Gout: radiographic findings mimicking infection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rousseau, I.; Raymond-Tremblay, D.; Cardinal, E.; Beauregard, C.G.; Braunstein, E.M.; Saint-Pierre, A.

    2001-01-01

    Objective: To describe radiographic features of gout that may mimic infection. Design and patients: We report five patients with acute bacterial gout who presented with clinical as well as radiological findings mimicking acute bacterial septic arthritis or osteomyelitis. Three patients had delay in the appropriate treatment with the final diagnosis being established after needle aspiration and identification of urate crystals under polarized light microscopy. Two patients underwent digit amputation for not responding to antibiotic treatment and had histological findings confirming the diagnosis of gout. Conclusion: It is important for the radiologist to be aware of the radiological manifestations of acute gout that can resemble infection in order to avoid inappropriate diagnosis and delay in adequate treatment. The definitive diagnosis should rely on needle aspiration and a specific search for urate crystals. (orig.)

  15. Breast cancer cell behaviors on staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices derived from tumor cells at various malignant stages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoshiba, Takashi; Tanaka, Masaru

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Models mimicking ECM in tumor with different malignancy were prepared. •Cancer cell proliferation was suppressed on benign tumor ECM. •Benign tumor cell proliferation was suppressed on cancerous ECM. •Chemoresistance of cancer cell was enhanced on cancerous ECM. -- Abstract: Extracellular matrix (ECM) has been focused to understand tumor progression in addition to the genetic mutation of cancer cells. Here, we prepared “staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices” which mimic in vivo ECM in tumor tissue at each malignant stage to understand the roles of ECM in tumor progression. Breast tumor cells, MDA-MB-231 (invasive), MCF-7 (non-invasive), and MCF-10A (benign) cells, were cultured to form their own ECM beneath the cells and formed ECM was prepared as staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices by decellularization treatment. Cells showed weak attachment on the matrices derived from MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. The proliferations of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 was promoted on the matrices derived from MDA-MB-231 cancer cells whereas MCF-10A cell proliferation was not promoted. MCF-10A cell proliferation was promoted on the matrices derived from MCF-10A cells. Chemoresistance of MDA-MB-231 cells against 5-fluorouracil increased on only matrices derived from MDA-MB-231 cells. Our results showed that the cells showed different behaviors on staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices according to the malignancy of cell sources for ECM preparation. Therefore, staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices might be a useful in vitro ECM models to investigate the roles of ECM in tumor progression

  16. Breast cancer cell behaviors on staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices derived from tumor cells at various malignant stages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoshiba, Takashi [Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-8510 (Japan); International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan); Tanaka, Masaru, E-mail: tanaka@yz.yamagata-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-8510 (Japan)

    2013-09-20

    Highlights: •Models mimicking ECM in tumor with different malignancy were prepared. •Cancer cell proliferation was suppressed on benign tumor ECM. •Benign tumor cell proliferation was suppressed on cancerous ECM. •Chemoresistance of cancer cell was enhanced on cancerous ECM. -- Abstract: Extracellular matrix (ECM) has been focused to understand tumor progression in addition to the genetic mutation of cancer cells. Here, we prepared “staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices” which mimic in vivo ECM in tumor tissue at each malignant stage to understand the roles of ECM in tumor progression. Breast tumor cells, MDA-MB-231 (invasive), MCF-7 (non-invasive), and MCF-10A (benign) cells, were cultured to form their own ECM beneath the cells and formed ECM was prepared as staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices by decellularization treatment. Cells showed weak attachment on the matrices derived from MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. The proliferations of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 was promoted on the matrices derived from MDA-MB-231 cancer cells whereas MCF-10A cell proliferation was not promoted. MCF-10A cell proliferation was promoted on the matrices derived from MCF-10A cells. Chemoresistance of MDA-MB-231 cells against 5-fluorouracil increased on only matrices derived from MDA-MB-231 cells. Our results showed that the cells showed different behaviors on staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices according to the malignancy of cell sources for ECM preparation. Therefore, staged tumorigenesis-mimicking matrices might be a useful in vitro ECM models to investigate the roles of ECM in tumor progression.

  17. Lie-algebra approach to symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, J.T.

    1981-01-01

    A formal Lie-algebra approach to symmetry breaking is studied in an attempt to reduce the arbitrariness of Lagrangian (Hamiltonian) models which include several free parameters and/or ad hoc symmetry groups. From Lie algebra it is shown that the unbroken Lagrangian vacuum symmetry can be identified from a linear function of integers which are Cartan matrix elements. In broken symmetry if the breaking operators form an algebra then the breaking symmetry (or symmetries) can be identified from linear functions of integers characteristic of the breaking symmetries. The results are applied to the Dirac Hamiltonian of a sum of flavored fermions and colored bosons in the absence of dynamical symmetry breaking. In the partially reduced quadratic Hamiltonian the breaking-operator functions are shown to consist of terms of order g 2 , g, and g 0 in the color coupling constants and identified with strong (boson-boson), medium strong (boson-fermion), and fine-structure (fermion-fermion) interactions. The breaking operators include a boson helicity operator in addition to the familiar fermion helicity and ''spin-orbit'' terms. Within the broken vacuum defined by the conventional formalism, the field divergence yields a gauge which is a linear function of Cartan matrix integers and which specifies the vacuum symmetry. We find that the vacuum symmetry is chiral SU(3) x SU(3) and the axial-vector-current divergence gives a PCAC -like function of the Cartan matrix integers which reduces to PCAC for SU(2) x SU(2) breaking. For the mass spectra of the nonets J/sup P/ = 0 - ,1/2 + ,1 - the integer runs through the sequence 3,0,-1,-2, which indicates that the breaking subgroups are the simple Lie groups. Exact axial-vector-current conservation indicates a breaking sum rule which generates octet enhancement. Finally, the second-order breaking terms are obtained from the second-order spin tensor sum of the completely reduced quartic Hamiltonian

  18. Structural Break Tests Robust to Regression Misspecification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alaa Abi Morshed

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Structural break tests for regression models are sensitive to model misspecification. We show—analytically and through simulations—that the sup Wald test for breaks in the conditional mean and variance of a time series process exhibits severe size distortions when the conditional mean dynamics are misspecified. We also show that the sup Wald test for breaks in the unconditional mean and variance does not have the same size distortions, yet benefits from similar power to its conditional counterpart in correctly specified models. Hence, we propose using it as an alternative and complementary test for breaks. We apply the unconditional and conditional mean and variance tests to three US series: unemployment, industrial production growth and interest rates. Both the unconditional and the conditional mean tests detect a break in the mean of interest rates. However, for the other two series, the unconditional mean test does not detect a break, while the conditional mean tests based on dynamic regression models occasionally detect a break, with the implied break-point estimator varying across different dynamic specifications. For all series, the unconditional variance does not detect a break while most tests for the conditional variance do detect a break which also varies across specifications.

  19. Optically stimulated slowing of polar heavy-atom molecules with a constant beat phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Yanning; Xu, Supeng; Xia, Meng; Xia, Yong; Yin, Jianping

    2018-04-01

    Polar heavy-atom molecules have been well recognized as promising candidates for precision measurements and tests of fundamental physics. A much slower molecular beam to increase the interaction time should lead to a more sensitive measurement. Here we theoretically demonstrate the possibility of the stimulated longitudinal slowing of heavy-atom molecules by the coherent optical bichromatic force with a constant beat phase. Taking the YbF meolecule as an example, we show that a rapid and short-distance deceleration of heavy molecules by a phase-compensation method is feasible with moderate conditions. A molecular beam of YbF with a forward velocity of 120 m/s can be decelerated below 10 m/s within a distance of 3.5 cm and with a laser irradiance for each traveling wave of 107.2 W/cm 2 . Our proposed slowing method could be a promising approach to break through the space constraint or the limited capture efficiency of molecules loadable into a magneto-optical trap in traditional deceleration schemes, opening the possibility for a significant improvement of the precision measurement sensitivity.

  20. Cutaneous Silicone Granuloma Mimicking Breast Cancer after Ruptured Breast Implant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waseem Asim Ghulam El-Charnoubi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Cutaneous manifestations due to migration of silicone from ruptured implants are rare. Migrated silicone with cutaneous involvement has been found in the chest wall, abdominal wall, and lower extremities. We describe a case of cutaneous silicone granuloma in the breast exhibiting unusual growth mimicking breast cancer after a ruptured implant.

  1. A Q fever case mimicking crimean-congo haemorrhagic fever

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O Karabay

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Coxiella burnetii is the bacterium that causes Q fever. Human infection is mainly transmitted from cattle, goats and sheep. The disease is usually self-limited. Pneumonia and hepatitis are the most common clinical manifestations. In this study, we present a case of Q fever from the western part of Turkey mimicking Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF in terms of clinical and laboratory findings.

  2. 9 CFR 590.522 - Breaking room operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... personnel. (m) Ingredients and additives used in, or for, processing egg products, shall be handled in a..., Processing, and Facility Requirements § 590.522 Breaking room operations. (a) The breaking room shall be kept... clean and reasonably dry during breaking operations and free of egg meat and shells. (b) All breaking...

  3. Sparganosis of the Breast that Mimicked Metastasis: A Case Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Woon; Hwang, Mi Soo

    2011-01-01

    Sparganosis of the breast is a rare parasitic infection of humans. If the breast is involved, then this condition presents as soft tissue masses that mimic breast cancer. We report here on the radiologic feature of sparganosis in a patient with gastric cancer and this mimicked metastasis. We also briefly review the relevant literature

  4. Rock breaking methods to replace blasting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Huisheng; Xie, Xinghua; Feng, Yuqing

    2018-03-01

    The method of breaking rock by blasting has a high efficiency and the cost is relatively low, but the associated vibration, flyrock, production of toxic gases since the 1970’s, the Western developed countries began to study the safety of breaking rock. This paper introduces different methods and their progress to safely break rock. Ideally, safe rock breaking would have little vibration, no fly stone, and no toxic gases, which can be widely used in municipal engineering, road excavation, high-risk mining, quarrying and complex environment.

  5. Research progress on dam-break floods

    KAUST Repository

    Wu, Jiansong; Bao, Kai; Zhang, Hui

    2011-01-01

    Because of the catastrophic effects downstream of dam-break failure, more and more researchers around the world have been working on the study of dam-break flows to accurately forecast the downstream inundation mapping. With the rapid development of computer hardware and computing techniques, numerical study on dam-break flows has been a popular research subject. In the paper, the numerical methodologies used to solve the governing partial differential equations of dam-break flows are classified and summarized, and their characteristics and applications are discussed respectively. Furthermore, the fully-developed mathematical models developed in recent decades are reviewed, and also introduced the authors' on-going work. Finally, some possible future developments on modeling the dam-break flows and some solutions are presented and discussed. © 2011 IEEE.

  6. Research progress on dam-break floods

    KAUST Repository

    Wu, Jiansong

    2011-08-01

    Because of the catastrophic effects downstream of dam-break failure, more and more researchers around the world have been working on the study of dam-break flows to accurately forecast the downstream inundation mapping. With the rapid development of computer hardware and computing techniques, numerical study on dam-break flows has been a popular research subject. In the paper, the numerical methodologies used to solve the governing partial differential equations of dam-break flows are classified and summarized, and their characteristics and applications are discussed respectively. Furthermore, the fully-developed mathematical models developed in recent decades are reviewed, and also introduced the authors\\' on-going work. Finally, some possible future developments on modeling the dam-break flows and some solutions are presented and discussed. © 2011 IEEE.

  7. Orthokeratinised odontogenic cyst mimicking periapical cyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajalakshmi, R; Sreeja, C; Vijayalakshmi, D; Leelarani, V

    2013-10-07

    Orthokeratinised odontogenic cyst (OOC) denotes the odontogenic cyst that microscopically has an orthokeratinised epithelial lining. OOC is characterised by a less-aggressive behaviour and a low rate of recurrence. This report describes a case of OOC involving posterior part of the mandible that mimicked periapical cyst in a 14-year-old boy. The initial clinical diagnosis was given as periapical cyst based on the clinical and radiographical features. Enucleation of the cyst was performed and the specimen was sent for histopathological examination. A definite diagnosis of OOC was made by histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen. This case emphases on including OOC in the differential diagnosis of radiolucencies occurring in the periapical region of non-vital tooth.

  8. Break-glass handling exceptional situations in access control

    CERN Document Server

    Petritsch, Helmut

    2014-01-01

    Helmut Petritsch describes the first holistic approach to Break-Glass which covers the whole life-cycle: from access control modeling (pre-access), to logging the security-relevant system state during Break-Glass accesses (at-access), and the automated analysis of Break-Glass accesses (post-access). Break-Glass allows users to override security restrictions in exceptional situations. While several Break-Glass models specific to given access control models have already been discussed in research (e.g., extending RBAC with Break-Glass), the author introduces a generic Break-Glass model. The pres

  9. Cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia mimicking cutaneous lymphoma in a hyperthyroid cat

    OpenAIRE

    Snead, Elisabeth; Kerr, Moira; MacDonald, Valerie

    2013-01-01

    A 12-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat presented for chronic, localized, swelling and crusting of the left upper lip, weight loss, sporadic vomiting, and focal alopecia between the scapulae was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and regional eosinophilic lymphadenitis. Treatment with methimazole exacerbated an underlying hypersensitivity disorder leading to marked generalized lymphadenopathy that histologically mimicked lymphoma.

  10. Giant Spermatocele Mimicking Hydrocele: A Case Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsin-Chih Yeh

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Spermatoceles are usually asymptomatic and often found incidentally during physical examination. We report a case of giant spermatocele that mimicked a hydrocele. A 55-year-old man suffered from right scrotal enlargement for several years. As the heavy sensation and scrotal soreness worsened in recent months, he came to our outpatient clinic for help. Hydrocele was suspected due to transilluminating appearance of the scrotal content. Surgical exploration was arranged and a giant spermatocele was found. Total excision of the spermatocele was performed and the patient recovered well. The specimen was sent for pathology and spermatocele with spermatozoa was noted.

  11. Floating retained root lesion mimicking apical periodontitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Ming-Pang; Chen, Chih-Ping; Shieh, Yi-Shing

    2009-10-01

    A case of a retained root tip simulating apical periodontitis on radiographic examination is described. The retained root tip, originating from the left lower first molar, floated under the left lower second premolar apical region mimicking apical periodontitis. It appeared as an ill-defined periapical radiolucency containing a smaller radiodense mass on radiograph. The differential diagnosis included focal sclerosing osteomyelitis (condensing osteitis) and ossifying fibroma. Upon exicisional biopsy, a retained root associated with granulation tissue was found. After 1-year follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic and the periradicular lesion was healing. Meanwhile, the associated tooth showed a normal response to stimulation testing.

  12. Unusual presentation of chondroblastoma mimicking Trevor's disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y Karkhur

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Chondroblastoma is a benign bone tumor, represents 1%–2% of all primary bone tumors, typically seen in patients 10–25-year-old and more common in males. It occurs most frequently in the distal femur, proximal tibia, and proximal humerus. Soft tissue extension is extremely rare. Adjacent joints may develop effusions, but the tumor mass protruding into the joint has never been seen in case of chondroblastoma. We report a rare case of intra-articular chondroblastoma arising from proximal tibia in a 16-year-old boy and growing into the knee joint mimicking an intra-articular osteochondroma.

  13. Hydrogen transfer reactions of interstellar Complex Organic Molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Álvarez-Barcia, S.; Russ, P.; Kästner, J.; Lamberts, T.

    2018-06-01

    Radical recombination has been proposed to lead to the formation of complex organic molecules (COMs) in CO-rich ices in the early stages of star formation. These COMs can then undergo hydrogen addition and abstraction reactions leading to a higher or lower degree of saturation. Here, we have studied 14 hydrogen transfer reactions for the molecules glyoxal, glycoaldehyde, ethylene glycol, and methylformate and an additional three reactions where CHnO fragments are involved. Over-the-barrier reactions are possible only if tunneling is invoked in the description at low temperature. Therefore the rate constants for the studied reactions are calculated using instanton theory that takes quantum effects into account inherently. The reactions were characterized in the gas phase, but this is expected to yield meaningful results for CO-rich ices due to the minimal alteration of reaction landscapes by the CO molecules. We found that rate constants should not be extrapolated based on the height of the barrier alone, since the shape of the barrier plays an increasingly larger role at decreasing temperature. It is neither possible to predict rate constants based only on considering the type of reaction, the specific reactants and functional groups play a crucial role. Within a single molecule, though, hydrogen abstraction from an aldehyde group seems to be always faster than hydrogen addition to the same carbon atom. Reactions that involve heavy-atom tunneling, e.g., breaking or forming a C-C or C-O bond, have rate constants that are much lower than those where H transfer is involved.

  14. Age-related inflammatory bone marrow microenvironment induces ineffective erythropoiesis mimicking del(5q) MDS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Y; Zhao, B; Basiorka, A A; Yang, J; Cao, L; Zhang, J; List, A; Ji, P

    2018-04-01

    Anemia is characteristic of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The mechanisms of anemia in MDS are unclear. Using a mouse genetic approach, here we show that dual deficiency of mDia1 and miR-146a, encoded on chromosome 5q and commonly deleted in MDS (del(5q) MDS), causes an age-related anemia and ineffective erythropoiesis mimicking human MDS. We demonstrate that the ageing bone marrow microenvironment is important for the development of ineffective erythropoiesis in these mice. Damage-associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs), whose levels increase in ageing bone marrow, induced TNFα and IL-6 upregulation in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in mDia1/miR-146a double knockout mice. Mechanistically, we reveal that pathologic levels of TNFα and IL-6 inhibit erythroid colony formation and differentially affect terminal erythropoiesis through reactive oxygen species-induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis. Treatment of the mDia1/miR-146a double knockout mice with all-trans retinoic acid, which promoted the differentiation of MDSCs and ameliorated the inflammatory bone marrow microenvironment, significantly rescued anemia and ineffective erythropoiesis. Our study underscores the dual roles of the ageing microenvironment and genetic abnormalities in the pathogenesis of ineffective erythropoiesis in del(5q) MDS.

  15. The Tunable Bandgap of AB-Stacked Bilayer Graphene on SiO2 with H2O Molecule Adsorption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Tao; Guo Qing; Liu Yan; Wang Wen-Bo; Sheng Kuang; Ao Zhi-Min; Yu Bin

    2011-01-01

    The atomic and electronic structures of AB-stacking bilayer graphene (BLG) in the presence of H 2 O molecules are investigated by density functional theory calculations. For free-standing BLG, the bandgap is opened to 0.101 eV with a single H 2 O molecule adsorbed on its surface. The perfectly suspended BLG is sensitive to H 2 O adsorbates, which break the BLG lattice symmetry and open an energy gap. While a single H 2 O molecule is adsorbed on the BLG surface with a SiO 2 substrate, the bandgap widens to 0.363 eV. Both the H 2 O molecule adsorption and the oxide substrate contribute to the BLG bandgap opening. The phenomenon is interpreted with the charge transfer process in 2D carbon nanostructures. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  16. Cartilage Delamination Flap Mimicking a Torn Medial Meniscus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gan Zhi-Wei Jonathan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We report a case of a chondral delamination lesion due to medial parapatellar plica friction syndrome involving the medial femoral condyle. This mimicked a torn medial meniscus in clinical and radiological presentation. Arthroscopy revealed a chondral delamination flap, which was debrided. Diagnosis of chondral lesions in the knee can be challenging. Clinical examination and MRI have good accuracy for diagnosis and should be used in tandem. Early diagnosis and treatment of chondral lesions are important to prevent progression to early osteoarthritis.

  17. Supersymmetry breaking with extra dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zwirner, Fabio

    2004-01-01

    This talk reviews some aspects of supersymmetry breaking in the presence of extra dimensions. The first part is a general introduction, recalling the motivations for supersymmetry and extra dimensions, as well as some unsolved problems of four-dimensional models of supersymmetry breaking. The central part is a more focused introduction to a mechanism for (super)symmetry breaking, proposed first by Scherk and Schwarz, where extra dimensions play a crucial role. The last part is devoted to the description of some recent results and of some open problems. (author)

  18. Controlling the interparticle distance in a 2D molecule-nanoparticle network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guedon, C M; Zonneveld, J; Van der Molen, S J [Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratorium, Leiden University, PO Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Valkenier, H; Hummelen, J C [Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen (Netherlands)

    2011-03-25

    Mechanically controllable break junctions allow for an impressive level of control over the distance between two electrodes, but lack stability at room temperature. On the other hand, two-dimensional (2D) networks of nanoparticles bridged by molecules form a stable device structure for investigating molecular conductance properties. Here, we combine both techniques to create a robust platform for molecular charge transport with control over the inter-electrode distance on the picometer scale. The resistance change due to bending of our structures is dependent on the molecular species present between the nanoparticles.

  19. Controlling the interparticle distance in a 2D molecule-nanoparticle network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guedon, C M; Zonneveld, J; Van der Molen, S J; Valkenier, H; Hummelen, J C

    2011-01-01

    Mechanically controllable break junctions allow for an impressive level of control over the distance between two electrodes, but lack stability at room temperature. On the other hand, two-dimensional (2D) networks of nanoparticles bridged by molecules form a stable device structure for investigating molecular conductance properties. Here, we combine both techniques to create a robust platform for molecular charge transport with control over the inter-electrode distance on the picometer scale. The resistance change due to bending of our structures is dependent on the molecular species present between the nanoparticles.

  20. Huge Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans Mimicking a Breast Malignant Tumor with Abscess

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Han-Kun Chen

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP is an uncommon skin cancer that most commonly occurs on the trunk and extremities. DFSP of the breast has rarely been reported, and then is almost always of small size. We report a case of rapid-growing DFSP of the breast with abscess formation mimicking breast cancer, and also make a review of related literature.

  1. Addison's Disease Mimicking as Acute Pancreatitis: A Case Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhuri, Sayani; Rao, Karthik N; Patil, Navin; Ommurugan, Balaji; Varghese, George

    2017-04-01

    Over past two decades there has been significant improvement in medical field in elucidating the underlying pathophysiology and genetics of Addison's disease. Adrenal insufficiency (Addison's disease) is a rare disease with an incidence of 0.8/100,000 cases. The diagnosis may be delayed if the clinical presentation mimics a gastrointestinal disorder or psychiatric illness. We report a case of Addison's disease presenting as acute pain in abdomen mimicking clinical presentation of acute pancreatitis.

  2. A case of gallbladder mass: Malakoplakia (The tumor mimicker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kanwaljeet Singh

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Diagnosis of malakoplakia presenting as gall bladder mass is a diagnostic dilemma faced by pathologists, radiologists, and surgeons. Malakoplakia is a rare inflammatory disorder and tumor mimicker usually occurring in the urinary tract, may occasionally be found in gall bladder. Here, we present a rare case, presenting as gall bladder mass in a known case of gallstone disease, clinically suspected as carcinoma and later turned out to be malakoplakia in gall bladder.

  3. Entangled exciton states in quantum dot molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayer, Manfred

    2002-03-01

    example, using an electric field along the molecule axis we can break the entanglement. Tunneling of carriers is prevented then and emission from intra-dot and inter-dot excitons in which electron and hole are located on the same and on opposite dots, respectively, is observed. The voltage required for the entanglement breaking increases with decreasing barrier width reflecting the increasing 'robustness' of the entanglement for narrow barriers.

  4. NPP Krsko small break LOCA analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mavko, B.; Petelin, S.; Peterlin, G.

    1987-01-01

    Parametric analysis of small break loss of coolant accident for the Krsko NPP was calculated by using RELAP5/MOD1 computer code. The model that was used in our calculations has been improved over several years and was previously tested in simulation (s) of start-up tests and known NPP Krsko transients. In our calculations we modelled automatic actions initiated by control, safety and protection systems. We also modelled the required operator actions as specified in emergency operating instructions. In small-break LOCA calculations, we varied break sizes in the cold leg. The influence of steam generator tube plugging on small break LOCA accidents was also analysed. (author)

  5. Deficiency of Double-Strand DNA Break Repair Does Not Impair Mycobacterium tuberculosis Virulence in Multiple Animal Models of Infection

    OpenAIRE

    Heaton, Brook E.; Barkan, Daniel; Bongiorno, Paola; Karakousis, Petros C.; Glickman, Michael S.

    2014-01-01

    Mycobacterium tuberculosis persistence within its human host requires mechanisms to resist the effector molecules of host immunity, which exert their bactericidal effects through damaging pathogen proteins, membranes, and DNA. Substantial evidence indicates that bacterial pathogens, including M. tuberculosis, require DNA repair systems to repair the DNA damage inflicted by the host during infection, but the role of double-strand DNA break (DSB) repair systems is unclear. Double-strand DNA bre...

  6. A model for string-breaking in QCD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antonov, Dmitri; Del Debbio, Luigi; Di Giacomo, Adriano

    2003-01-01

    We present a model for string breaking based on the existence of chromoelectric flux tubes. We predict the form of the long-range potential and obtain an estimate of the string breaking length. A prediction is also obtained for the behaviour with temperature of the string breaking length near the deconfinement phase transition. We plan to use this model as a guide for a program of study of string breaking on the lattice. (author)

  7. Use of a ring chromosome and pulsed-field gels to study interhomolog recombination, double-strand DNA breaks and sister-chromatid exchange in yeast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Game, J.C.; Sitney, K.C.; Cook, V.E.; Mortimer, R.K.

    1989-01-01

    The authors describe a system that uses pulsed-field gels for the physical detection of recombinant DNA molecules, double-strand DNA breaks (DSB) and sister-chromatid exchange in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The system makes use of a circular variant of chromosome II (Chr. III). Meiotic recombination between this ring chromosome and a linear homolog produces new molecules of sizes distinguishable on gels from either parental molecule. They demonstrate that these recombinant molecules are not present either in strains with two linear Chr. III molecules or in rad50 mutants, which are defective in meiotic recombination. In conjunction with the molecular endpoints. They present data on the timing of commitment to meiotic recombination scored genetically. They have used x-rays to linearize circular Chr. III, both to develop a sensitive method for measuring frequency of DSB and as a means of detecting double-size circles originating in part from sister-chromatid exchange, which they find to be frequent during meiosis

  8. Full experimental modelling of a liver tissue mimicking phantom for medical ultrasound studies employing different hydrogels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casciaro, Sergio; Conversano, Francesco; Musio, Stefano; Casciaro, Ernesto; Demitri, Christian; Sannino, Alessandro

    2009-04-01

    Tissue mimicking phantoms have been widely reported to be an important tool for development, optimisation and performance testing of ultrasound-based diagnostic techniques. In particular, modern applications of tissue mimicking phantoms often include characterisation of the nonlinear behaviour of experimental ultrasound contrast agents. In such cases, the tissue-mimicking materials should be chosen not only based on the values of their density, speed of sound and attenuation coefficient, but also considering their effect on the appearance of "native harmonics" due to nonlinear distortion of ultrasound signal during propagation. In a previous paper it was demonstrated that a cellulose-based hydrogel is suitable to simulate nonlinear acoustical behaviour of liver tissue for thicknesses up to 8 cm. In this paper we present the experimental characterisation of the nonlinear acoustical behaviour of a different polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA)-based hydrogel, in order to assess whether and how it can improve the performances and overcome some limitations of the cellulose-based hydrogel as liver tissue-mimicking material. Samples of pig liver tissue, cellulose-based hydrogel and PEGDA-based hydrogel were insonified in a through-transmission set-up, employing 2.25-MHz pulses with different mechanical index (MI) values. Second harmonic and first harmonic amplitudes were extracted from the spectra of received signals and their difference was then used to compare sample behaviours. Obtained results show how a new more accurate and combined experimental model of linear and nonlinear acoustical behaviour of liver tissue is feasible. In fact, a further confirmation of the cellulose-based hydrogel effectiveness to precisely simulate the liver tissue for penetration depths up to 8 cm was provided, and it was also shown that the employment of the PEGDA-based hydrogel can extend the range of useful tissue-mimicking material thicknesses up to 11 cm, moreover allowing a

  9. Nephrogenic rests mimicking Wilms' tumor on CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Subhas, Naveen; Siegelman, Stanley S.; Argani, Pedram; Gearhart, John P.

    2004-01-01

    Nephrogenic rests (NR) are persistent benign remnants of embryonic renal tissue. A small percentage of these may develop into Wilms' tumor (WT). Radiologic imaging is relied upon to differentiate between these entities, with the hallmark of malignant transformation being growth on serial imaging studies. There is, however, considerable overlap in their imaging characteristics. The authors present a case of two biopsy-proven NR in a 2-year-old girl with sporadic aniridia that were indistinguishable from WT on initial radiologic studies. One of the NR grew on serial imaging studies mimicking a WT, but after resection was confirmed to be a benign hyperplastic NR on pathologic examination. (orig.)

  10. The new break-even analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laskaris, James; Regan, Katie

    2013-12-01

    Changes in the economic and legislative environment have complicated the capital acquisition landscape. Hospitals and health systems should: Question the assumptions that underlie their break-even analysis. Revamp the break-even calculator. Engage in discussions about the clinical aspects of equipment and technology acquisition decisions.

  11. Single Molecule Nanoelectrochemistry in Electrical Junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Richard J; Higgins, Simon J

    2016-11-15

    It is now possible to reliably measure single molecule conductance in a wide variety of environments including organic liquids, ultrahigh vacuum, water, ionic liquids, and electrolytes. The most commonly used methods deploy scanning probe microscopes, mechanically formed break junctions, or lithographically formed nanogap contacts. Molecules are generally captured between a pair of facing electrodes, and the junction current response is measured as a function of bias voltage. Gating electrodes can also be added so that the electrostatic potential at the molecular bridge can be independently controlled by this third noncontacting electrode. This can also be achieved in an electrolytic environment using a four-electrode bipotentiostatic configuration, which allows independent electrode potential control of the two contacting electrodes. This is commonly realized using an electrochemical STM and enables single molecule electrical characterization as a function of electrode potential and redox state of the molecular bridge. This has emerged as a powerful tool in modern interfacial electrochemistry and nanoelectrochemistry for studying charge transport across single molecules as a function of electrode potential and the electrolytic environments. Such measurements are possible in electrolytes ranging from aqueous buffers to nonaqueous ionic liquids. In this Account, we illustrate a number of examples of single molecule electrical measurements under electrode potential control use a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and demonstrate how these can help in the understanding of charge transport in single molecule junctions. Examples showing charge transport following phase coherent tunneling to incoherent charge hopping across redox active molecular bridges are shown. In the case of bipyridinium (or viologen) molecular wires, it is shown how electrochemical reduction leads to an increase of the single molecule conductance, which is controlled by the liquid electrochemical

  12. Ru(CO)3Cl(Glycinate) (CORM-3): A Carbon Monoxide–Releasing Molecule with Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial and Photosensitive Activities Against Respiration and Cation Transport in Escherichia coli

    OpenAIRE

    Wilson, Jayne Louise; Jesse, Helen E.; Hughes, Bethan; Lund, Victoria; Naylor, Kathryn; Davidge, Kelly S.; Cook, Gregory M.; Mann, Brian E.; Poole, Robert K.

    2013-01-01

    Aims: Carbon monoxide (CO) delivered to cells and tissues by CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs) has beneficial\\ud and toxic effects not mimicked by CO gas. The metal carbonyl Ru(CO)3Cl(glycinate) (CORM-3) is a novel, potent\\ud antimicrobial agent. Here, we established its mode of action. Results: CORM-3 inhibits respiration in several\\ud bacterial and yeast pathogens. In anoxic Escherichia coli suspensions, CORM-3 first stimulates, then inhibits\\ud respiration, but much higher concentrations of ...

  13. Chiral symmetry and chiral-symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peskin, M.E.

    1982-12-01

    These lectures concern the dynamics of fermions in strong interaction with gauge fields. Systems of fermions coupled by gauge forces have a very rich structure of global symmetries, which are called chiral symmetries. These lectures will focus on the realization of chiral symmetries and the causes and consequences of thier spontaneous breaking. A brief introduction to the basic formalism and concepts of chiral symmetry breaking is given, then some explicit calculations of chiral symmetry breaking in gauge theories are given, treating first parity-invariant and then chiral models. These calculations are meant to be illustrative rather than accurate; they make use of unjustified mathematical approximations which serve to make the physics more clear. Some formal constraints on chiral symmetry breaking are discussed which illuminate and extend the results of our more explicit analysis. Finally, a brief review of the phenomenological theory of chiral symmetry breaking is presented, and some applications of this theory to problems in weak-interaction physics are discussed

  14. Pleural pneumatocoeles mimicking congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung. A case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aurora, P.; McHugh, K.

    1998-01-01

    We present the plain radiographic and CT appearances of large intrapleural pneumatocoeles in a 13-week-old infant, resulting in compression atelectasis of the left upper and lower lobes, and mimicking congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation. (orig.)

  15. 'Jet breaks' and 'missing breaks' in the X-Ray afterglow of Gamma Ray Bursts

    CERN Document Server

    Dado, Shlomo; De Rújula, Alvaro

    2008-01-01

    The X-ray afterglows (AGs) of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) have, after the fast decline phase of their prompt emission, a temporal behaviour varying between two extremes. A large fraction of these AGs has a 'canonical' light curve which, after an initial shallow-decay 'plateau' phase, 'breaks smoothly' into a fast power-law decline. Very energetic GRBs, contrariwise, appear not to have a 'break', their AG declines like a power-law from the start of the observations. Breaks and 'missing breaks' are intimately related to the geometry and deceleration of the jets responsible for GRBs. In the frame of the 'cannonball' (CB) model of GRBs and XRFs, we analyze the cited extreme behaviours (canonical and pure power-law) and intermediate cases spanning the observed range of X-ray AG shapes. We show that the entire panoply of X-ray light-curve shapes --measured with Swift and other satellites-- are as anticipated, on very limpid grounds, by the CB model. We test the expected correlations between the...

  16. Lifshitz-sector mediated SUSY breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pospelov, Maxim; Tamarit, Carlos

    2014-01-01

    We propose a novel mechanism of SUSY breaking by coupling a Lorentz-invariant supersymmetric matter sector to non-supersymmetric gravitational interactions with Lifshitz scaling. The improved UV properties of Lifshitz propagators moderate the otherwise uncontrollable ultraviolet divergences induced by gravitational loops. This ensures that both the amount of induced Lorentz violation and SUSY breaking in the matter sector are controlled by Λ HL 2 /M P 2 , the ratio of the Hořava-Lifshitz cross-over scale Λ HL to the Planck scale M P . This ratio can be kept very small, providing a novel way of explicitly breaking supersymmetry without reintroducing fine-tuning. We illustrate our idea by considering a model of scalar gravity with Hořava-Lifshitz scaling coupled to a supersymmetric Wess-Zumino matter sector, in which we compute the two-loop SUSY breaking corrections to the masses of the light scalars due to the gravitational interactions and the heavy fields

  17. Supersymmetry breaking from superstrings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaillard, M.K.

    1990-05-01

    The gauge hierarchy problem is briefly reviewed and a class of effective field theories obtained from superstrings is described. These are characterized by a classical symmetry, related to the space-time duality of string theory, that is responsible for the suppression of observable supersymmetry breaking effects. At the quantum level, the symmetry is broken by anomalies that provide the seed of observable supersymmetry breaking, and an acceptably large gauge hierarchy may be generated. 26 refs

  18. Supersymmetry breaking from superstrings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaillard, M.K.; Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA; California Univ., Berkeley

    1990-01-01

    The gauge hierarchy problem is briefly reviewed and a class of effective field theories obtained from superstrings is described. These are characterized by a clasical symmetry, related to the space-time duality of string theory, that is responsible for the suppression of observable supersymmetry breaking effects. At the quantum level, the symmetry is broken by anomalies that provide the seed of observable supersymmetry breaking, and an acceptably large gauge hierarchy may be generated

  19. Solid-phase synthesis of an apoptosis-inducing tetrapeptide mimicking the Smac protein

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Le Quement, Sebastian Thordal; Ishøy, Mette; Petersen, Mette Terp

    2011-01-01

    An approach for the solid-phase synthesis of apoptosis-inducing Smac peptidomimetics is presented. Using a Rink linker strategy, tetrapeptides mimicking the N-4-terminal residue of the Smac protein [(N-Me)AVPF sequence] were synthesized on PEGA resin in excellent purities and yields. Following two...

  20. Role of the lens in controlling physical dormancy break and germination of Delonix regia (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaganathan, G K; Wu, G-R; Han, Y-Y; Liu, B L

    2017-01-01

    Physical dormancy occurs in all three subfamilies of Fabaceae, namely Mimosoideae, Papilionoideae and Caesalpinioideae, making it one of the largest plant families in terms of number of species with physical dormancy. However, little is known about the water gap structure and germination ecology of species in Caesalpinioideae. Freshly collected seeds of Delonix regia (Caesalpinioideae) did not imbibe water, thus they had physical dormancy. Both dry heat and wet heat were effective in breaking dormancy, however, longer duration was required at 80 °C and shorter duration at 90 °C. Seeds buried in the field for 2 years germinated to 21% and 42% after the first and second summer, respectively, compared with 3% germination in seeds at the time of maturity. Seeds incubated at 15/60 °C in the laboratory (mimicking summer conditions) for 3 months supported this conclusion, as dormancy was relieved in 18% and 24% of seeds stored dry and watered intermediately, respectively. All the dormancy breaking treatments resulted in lifting of palisade layers in the lens region to form a circular lid-like opening, i.e. water gap (Type II simple). Blocking experiments confirmed that water entered only through the lens and no secondary water entry point was observed. No apparent changes in morphology/anatomy of the hilum region were noted in dormant and non-dormant (water permeable) seeds. These results suggest that summer temperatures could open the lens in a proportion of seeds every year and that germination occurs during the subsequent wet season in the tropics. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  1. Subaortic membrane mimicking hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Mark Joseph; Arruda-Olson, Adelaide; Gersh, Bernard; Geske, Jeffrey

    2015-11-04

    A 34-year-old man was referred for progressive angina and exertional dyspnoea refractory to medical therapy, with a presumptive diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) revealed asymmetric septal hypertrophy without systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve leaflet and with no dynamic left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction. However, the LVOT velocity was elevated at rest as well as with provocation, without the characteristic late peaking obstruction seen in HCM. Focused TTE to evaluate for suspected fixed obstruction demonstrated a subaortic membrane 2.2 cm below the aortic valve. Coronary CT angiography confirmed the presence of the subaortic membrane and was negative for concomitant coronary artery disease. Surgical resection of the subaortic membrane and septal myectomy resulted in significant symptomatic relief and lower LVOT velocities on postoperative TTE. This case reminds the clinician to carefully evaluate for alternative causes of LVOT obstruction, especially subaortic membrane, as a cause of symptoms mimicking HCM. 2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

  2. Odontogenic Keratocyst Mimicking Paradental Cyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Enrico Borgonovo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. The aim of this paper is to present an uncommon clinical and radiographic aspect of odontogenic keratocyst (OKC mimicking paradental cyst. Methods. A 32-year-old female patient showed a well-delimited radiolucent lesion connected with the root of the left third molar with close anatomical relationship with the mandibular canal. The clinical, radiographic, and anamnestic features lead us to diagnose a paradental cyst that was treated by enucleation after extraction of the partially impacted tooth. Results. Histological analysis showed typical histological features of PKC such as the presence of a lining of stratified squamous epithelium with a well-defined basal layer of palisading columnar of cuboidal cells. Conclusion. Initial X-ray analysis and the position of the lesion related to the third mandibular tooth caused us to mistakenly diagnose a paradental cyst. We were only able to identify the cyst as an PKC rather than a paradental cyst after histological analysis.

  3. Humanlike Robots - Synthetically Mimicking Humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

    2012-01-01

    Nature inspired many inventions and the field of technology that is based on the mimicking or inspiration of nature is widely known as Biomimetics and it is increasingly leading to many new capabilities. There are numerous examples of biomimetic successes including the copying of fins for swimming, and the inspiration of the insects and birds flight. More and more commercial implementations of biomimetics are appearing and behaving lifelike and applications are emerging that are important to our daily life. Making humanlike robots is the ultimate challenge to biomimetics and, for many years, it was considered science fiction, but such robots are becoming an engineering reality. Advances in producing such robot are allowing them to perform impressive functions and tasks. The development of such robots involves addressing many challenges and is raising concerns that are related to fear of their application implications and potential ethical issues. In this paper, the state-of-the-art of humanlike robots, potential applications and challenges will be reviewed.

  4. Encaged molecules in external electric fields: A molecular "tug-of-war"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurav, Nalini D.; Gejji, Shridhar P.; Bartolotti, Libero J.; Pathak, Rajeev K.

    2016-08-01

    Response of polar molecules CH3OH and H2O2 and a non-polar molecule, CO2, as "guests" encapsulated in the dodecahedral water cage (H2O)20 "host," to an external, perturbative electric field is investigated theoretically. We employ the hybrid density-functionals M06-2X and ωB97X-D incorporating the effects of damped dispersion, in conjunction with the maug-cc-pVTZ basis set, amenable for a hydrogen bonding description. While the host cluster (cage) tends to confine the embedded guest molecule through cooperative hydrogen bonding, the applied electric field tends to rupture the cluster-composite by stretching it; these two competitive effects leading to a molecular "tug-of-war." The composite remains stable up to a maximal sustainable threshold electric field, beyond which, concomitant with the vanishing of the HOMO-LUMO gap, the field wins over and the cluster breaks down. The electric-field effects are gauged in terms of the changes in the molecular geometry of the confined species, interaction energy, molecular electrostatic potential surfaces, and frequency shifts of characteristic normal vibrations in the IR regime. Interestingly, beyond the characteristic threshold electric field, the labile, distorted host cluster fragmentizes, and the guest molecule still tethered to a remnant fragment, an effect attributed to the underlying hydrogen-bonded networks.

  5. Computational simulation of chromosome breaks in human liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Jianshe; Li Wenjian; Jin Xiaodong

    2006-01-01

    An easy method was established for computing chromosome breaks in cells exposed to heavily charged particles. The cell chromosome break value by 12 C +6 ions was theoretically calculated, and was tested with experimental data of chromosome breaks by using a premature chromosome condensation technique. The theoretical chromosome break value agreed well with the experimental data. The higher relative biological effectiveness of the heavy ions was closely correlated to its physical characteristics. In addition, the chromosome break value can be predicted off line. (authors)

  6. Identification of the first small-molecule ligand of the neuronal receptor sortilin and structure determination of the receptor–ligand complex

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andersen, Jacob Lauwring, E-mail: jla@mb.au.dk [Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Schrøder, Tenna Juul; Christensen, Søren [H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500 Valby (Denmark); Strandbygård, Dorthe [Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Pallesen, Lone Tjener [Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); García-Alai, Maria Marta [Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Lindberg, Samsa; Langgård, Morten; Eskildsen, Jørgen Calí; David, Laurent; Tagmose, Lena; Simonsen, Klaus Baek; Maltas, Philip James; Rønn, Lars Christian Biilmann; Jong, Inge E. M. de; Malik, Ibrahim John; Egebjerg, Jan; Karlsson, Jens-Jacob [H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500 Valby (Denmark); Uppalanchi, Srinivas; Sakumudi, Durga Rao; Eradi, Pradheep [GVK BioScience, Plot No. 28 A, IDA Nacharam, Hyderabad 500 076 (India); Watson, Steven P., E-mail: jla@mb.au.dk [H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500 Valby (Denmark); Thirup, Søren, E-mail: jla@mb.au.dk [Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark)

    2014-02-01

    The identification of the first small-molecule ligand of the neuronal receptor sortilin and structure determination of the receptor–ligand complex are reported. Sortilin is a type I membrane glycoprotein belonging to the vacuolar protein sorting 10 protein (Vps10p) family of sorting receptors and is most abundantly expressed in the central nervous system. Sortilin has emerged as a key player in the regulation of neuronal viability and has been implicated as a possible therapeutic target in a range of disorders. Here, the identification of AF40431, the first reported small-molecule ligand of sortilin, is reported. Crystals of the sortilin–AF40431 complex were obtained by co-crystallization and the structure of the complex was solved to 2.7 Å resolution. AF40431 is bound in the neurotensin-binding site of sortilin, with the leucine moiety of AF40431 mimicking the binding mode of the C-terminal leucine of neurotensin and the 4-methylumbelliferone moiety of AF40431 forming π-stacking with a phenylalanine.

  7. Identification of the first small-molecule ligand of the neuronal receptor sortilin and structure determination of the receptor–ligand complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, Jacob Lauwring; Schrøder, Tenna Juul; Christensen, Søren; Strandbygård, Dorthe; Pallesen, Lone Tjener; García-Alai, Maria Marta; Lindberg, Samsa; Langgård, Morten; Eskildsen, Jørgen Calí; David, Laurent; Tagmose, Lena; Simonsen, Klaus Baek; Maltas, Philip James; Rønn, Lars Christian Biilmann; Jong, Inge E. M. de; Malik, Ibrahim John; Egebjerg, Jan; Karlsson, Jens-Jacob; Uppalanchi, Srinivas; Sakumudi, Durga Rao; Eradi, Pradheep; Watson, Steven P.; Thirup, Søren

    2014-01-01

    The identification of the first small-molecule ligand of the neuronal receptor sortilin and structure determination of the receptor–ligand complex are reported. Sortilin is a type I membrane glycoprotein belonging to the vacuolar protein sorting 10 protein (Vps10p) family of sorting receptors and is most abundantly expressed in the central nervous system. Sortilin has emerged as a key player in the regulation of neuronal viability and has been implicated as a possible therapeutic target in a range of disorders. Here, the identification of AF40431, the first reported small-molecule ligand of sortilin, is reported. Crystals of the sortilin–AF40431 complex were obtained by co-crystallization and the structure of the complex was solved to 2.7 Å resolution. AF40431 is bound in the neurotensin-binding site of sortilin, with the leucine moiety of AF40431 mimicking the binding mode of the C-terminal leucine of neurotensin and the 4-methylumbelliferone moiety of AF40431 forming π-stacking with a phenylalanine

  8. Gauge unification, non-local breaking, open strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trapletti, M.

    2005-01-01

    The issue of non-local GUT symmetry breaking is addressed in the context of open string model building. We study Z N xZ M ' orbifolds with all the GUT-breaking orbifold elements acting freely, as rotations accompanied by translations in the internal space. We consider open strings quantized on these backgrounds, distinguishing whether the translational action is parallel or perpendicular to the D-branes. GUT breaking is impossible in the purely perpendicular case, non-local GUT breaking is instead allowed in the purely parallel case. In the latter, the scale of breaking is set by the compactification moduli, and there are no fixed points with reduced gauge symmetry, where dangerous explicit GUT-breaking terms could be located. We investigate the mixed parallel+perpendicular case in a Z 2 xZ 2 ' example, having also a simplified field theory realization. It is a new S 1 /Z 2 xZ 2 ' orbifold-GUT model, with bulk gauge symmetry SU(5)xSU(5) broken locally to the Standard Model gauge group. In spite of the locality of the GUT symmetry breaking, there is no localized contribution to the running of the coupling constants, and the unification scale is completely set by the length of S 1

  9. Renal dysplasia with the ipsilateral ectopic ureter mimicking abscess of the prostate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grbić Dragan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. In males the ectopic ureter usualy drains into the prostate (50%. During ureteric developement a thin membrane (Chawalla’s membrane separates the lumen of the ureter and the urogenital sinus at the point where the ureter joins the urogenital sinus. This membrane ruptures allowing urin to drain from the ureter to the urogenital sinus. The authors reported a case of renal dysplasia associated with ipsilateral uretral ectopia mimicking prostatic abscess. Case report. A subfebrile (37.3°C, 23-year-old patient, otherwise healthy, presented with persistent ascending perineal pain non-responsive to antibiotics and analgetics. Digitorectal examination (DRE showed asymmetric prostate with a soft, tender, buldging left lobe suggestive of prostatic abscess. The diagnosis was suspected using transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS, but the picture of the anechoic tubular structure in the left lobe of the prostate with a proximal undefined extraprostatic extension and a caudal intraprostatic blind end was incoclusive for the definitive diagnosis of prostatic abscess. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI was ordered and definitive diagnosis of renal dysplasia associated with the ipsilateral ectopic ureter filled with inflamed content mimicking prostatic abscess was made. Transurethral incision/minimal resection of the distal, blindly closed end of left ectopic ureter was done. Endoscopic surgical treatment was sufficient for relief of clinical symptoms. The patient’s recovery was uneventful. Conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, a case of renal dysplasia with the ipsilateral ectopic ureter mimicking prostate abscess has not been reported so far. Cystic pelvic malformations in males may result from too craniall sprouting of the ureteral bud, with delayed absorption and ectopic opening of the distal end of the ureter.

  10. Oil prices: Breaks and trends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noguera, José

    2013-01-01

    This paper contributes to the literature of the stationarity of financial time series and the literature on oil and macroeconomics in several ways. First, it uses Kejriwal and Perron (2010) sequential procedure to endogenously determine multiple structural changes in real oil prices without facing the circular testing problem between structural changes and stationary assumptions of previous tests. Second, it performs a diagnostic check to detect the significance and magnitude of the potential breaks. Third, it uses the above information to test for the existence of stochastic trends in real oil prices, and fourth, it speculates about possible explanations for the break dates found in order to encourage further work and discussions. The exercise uses monthly data from January 1861 to August 2011. - Highlights: ► The model endogenously determine multiple structural changes in real oil prices. ► The methods used does not face the circular testing problem. ► It also detect the significance and magnitude of the breaks detected. ► It tests for the existence of stochastic trends. ► It explains the reasons for the break dates found

  11. Climate and floods still govern California levee breaks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florsheim, J.L.; Dettinger, M.D.

    2007-01-01

    Even in heavily engineered river systems, climate still governs flood variability and thus still drives many levee breaks and geomorphic changes. We assemble a 155-year record of levee breaks for a major California river system to find that breaks occurred in 25% of years during the 20th Century. A relation between levee breaks and river discharge is present that sets a discharge threshold above which most levee breaks occurred. That threshold corresponds to small floods with recurrence intervals of ???2-3 years. Statistical analysis illustrates that levee breaks and peak discharges cycle (broadly) on a 12-15 year time scale, in time with warm-wet storm patterns in California, but more slowly or more quickly than ENSO and PDO climate phenomena, respectively. Notably, these variations and thresholds persist through the 20th Century, suggesting that historical flood-control effects have not reduced the occurrence or frequency of levee breaks. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

  12. Abdominal Splenosis Mimicking Hepatic Tumor: A Case Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Lun Yeh

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Diagnosis of abdominal splenosis is often undiagnosed until treatment for splenic rupture or splenectomy. This report describes a patient with splenosis mimicking hepatic tumor. The patient had a history of splenic trauma with splenectomy and chronic hepatitis C. After routine abdominal ultrasound revealed a liver nodule, further imaging studies, including magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and angiography, were performed. After the patient eventually underwent surgery, pathology revealed splenic tissue. Despite its distinguishable clinical features, splenosis is difficult to identify by modern imaging modalities. Therefore, accurate and timely diagnosis of this disease requires constant vigilance.

  13. A huge renal capsular leiomyoma mimicking retroperitoneal sarcoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lal Anupam

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available A huge left renal capsular leiomyoma mimicking retroperitoneal sarcoma presented in a patient as an abdominal mass. Computed tomography displayed a large heterogeneous retro-peritoneal mass in the left side of the abdomen with inferior and medial displacement as well as loss of fat plane with the left kidney. Surgical exploration revealed a capsulated mass that was tightly adherent to the left kidney; therefore, total tumor resection with radical left nephrectomy was performed. Histopathology ultimately confirmed the benign nature of the mass. This is the largest leiomyoma reported in literature to the best of our knowledge.

  14. Simple bone cyst of mandible mimicking periapical cyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hs, Charan Babu; Rai, Bhagawan Das; Nair, Manju A; Astekar, Madhusudan S

    2012-05-29

    Simple bone cysts (SBC) are pseudocysts occurring less commonly in the maxillofacial region. The uncertain and unclear etiopathogenesis led to numerous synonyms to refer this particular cyst. These cysts are devoid of an epithelial lining and are usually empty or contain blood or straw-colored fluid. In jaws initially it mimics a periapical cyst and later can lead to cortical bone expansion warranting for radical approach, which is seldom required. SBC is predominantly diagnosed in first two decades of life. Here we report a case of solitary bone cyst mimicking a periapical cyst of a mandibular molar in a 37-year-old patient.

  15. Polycylcic carbon molecules with zigzag edges as sources of defects in graphene on a metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artaud, Alexandre; Magaud, Laurence; Ratter, Kitti; Guisset, Valérie; David, Philippe; Gilles, Bruno; Coraux, Johann; Chapelier, Claude

    Unlike the armchair edge, the zigzag edge of graphene breaks the equivalence of its two constituting carbon sub-lattices. Uncompensated magnetic moments are thus expected for such edges. For the same reason, dense polycyclic molecules (PCMs) terminated by zigzag edges are predicted to host net magnetic moments. Unfortunately, their synthesis is challenging. One approach relies on the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons, catalyzed by a transition metal. Here we investigate this little-explored approach, and put in evidence the formation of a series of highly symmetric zigzag edge PCMs onto Re (0001), among which phenalene, coronene and sumanene. We also address the relationship between the preparation of such molecules and graphene, which both form following hydrocarbon pyrolysis. We establish that the PCMs are unexpected obstacles towards high quality graphene.

  16. Mimicked cartilage scaffolds of silk fibroin/hyaluronic acid with stem cells for osteoarthritis surgery: Morphological, mechanical, and physical clues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaipaew, Jirayut; Wangkulangkul, Piyanun; Meesane, Jirut; Raungrut, Pritsana; Puttawibul, Puttisak

    2016-01-01

    Osteoarthritis is a critical disease that comes from degeneration of cartilage tissue. In severe cases surgery is generally required. Tissue engineering using scaffolds with stem cell transplantation is an attractive approach and a challenge for orthopedic surgery. For sample preparation, silk fibroin (SF)/hyaluronic acid (HA) scaffolds in different ratios of SF/HA (w/w) (i.e., 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30) were formed by freeze-drying. The morphological, mechanical, and physical clues were considered in this research. The morphological structure of the scaffolds was observed by scanning electron microscope. The mechanical and physical properties of the scaffolds were analyzed by compressive and swelling ratio testing, respectively. For the cell experiments, scaffolds were seeded and cultured with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs). The cultured scaffolds were tested for cell viability, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and gene expression. The SF with HA scaffolds showed regular porous structures. Those scaffolds had a soft and elastic characteristic with a high swelling ratio and water uptake. The SF/HA scaffolds showed a spheroid structure of the cells in the porous structure particularly in the SF80 and SF70 scaffolds. Cells could express Col2a, Agg, and Sox9 which are markers for chondrogenesis. It could be deduced that SF/HA scaffolds showed significant clues for suitability in cartilage tissue engineering and in surgery for osteoarthritis. - Highlights: • Silk fibroin/Hyaluronic acid was fabricated into mimicked scaffolds. • Mimicked scaffolds were incorporated with stem cells for chondrogenesis. • Mimicked scaffolds showed the clues for chondrogenic regulation. • Mimicked scaffolds had suitable performance for cartilage tissue engineering • Mimicked scaffolds showed promise for osteoarthritis surgery.

  17. Mimicked cartilage scaffolds of silk fibroin/hyaluronic acid with stem cells for osteoarthritis surgery: Morphological, mechanical, and physical clues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaipaew, Jirayut [Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand 90110 (Thailand); Wangkulangkul, Piyanun [Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand 90110 (Thailand); Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand 90110 (Thailand); Meesane, Jirut, E-mail: jirutmeesane999@yahoo.co.uk [Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand 90110 (Thailand); Raungrut, Pritsana [Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand 90110 (Thailand); Puttawibul, Puttisak [Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand 90110 (Thailand); Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand 90110 (Thailand)

    2016-07-01

    Osteoarthritis is a critical disease that comes from degeneration of cartilage tissue. In severe cases surgery is generally required. Tissue engineering using scaffolds with stem cell transplantation is an attractive approach and a challenge for orthopedic surgery. For sample preparation, silk fibroin (SF)/hyaluronic acid (HA) scaffolds in different ratios of SF/HA (w/w) (i.e., 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30) were formed by freeze-drying. The morphological, mechanical, and physical clues were considered in this research. The morphological structure of the scaffolds was observed by scanning electron microscope. The mechanical and physical properties of the scaffolds were analyzed by compressive and swelling ratio testing, respectively. For the cell experiments, scaffolds were seeded and cultured with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs). The cultured scaffolds were tested for cell viability, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and gene expression. The SF with HA scaffolds showed regular porous structures. Those scaffolds had a soft and elastic characteristic with a high swelling ratio and water uptake. The SF/HA scaffolds showed a spheroid structure of the cells in the porous structure particularly in the SF80 and SF70 scaffolds. Cells could express Col2a, Agg, and Sox9 which are markers for chondrogenesis. It could be deduced that SF/HA scaffolds showed significant clues for suitability in cartilage tissue engineering and in surgery for osteoarthritis. - Highlights: • Silk fibroin/Hyaluronic acid was fabricated into mimicked scaffolds. • Mimicked scaffolds were incorporated with stem cells for chondrogenesis. • Mimicked scaffolds showed the clues for chondrogenic regulation. • Mimicked scaffolds had suitable performance for cartilage tissue engineering • Mimicked scaffolds showed promise for osteoarthritis surgery.

  18. Radiative breaking of cosmologically acceptable grand unified theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gato, B.; Leon, J.; Quiros, M.

    1984-01-01

    We present a cosmologically acceptable grand unified model where the breaking of SU(5) proceeds through radiative corrections induced by supergravity soft-breaking terms. The breaking scale is determined by dimensional transmutation. The model is compatible with the radiative breaking of SU(2)sub(L)xU(1)sub(Y) which provides an experimentally accessible low energy particle spectrum and small top quark mass. (orig.)

  19. Strong Electroweak Symmetry Breaking

    CERN Document Server

    Grinstein, Benjamin

    2011-01-01

    Models of spontaneous breaking of electroweak symmetry by a strong interaction do not have fine tuning/hierarchy problem. They are conceptually elegant and use the only mechanism of spontaneous breaking of a gauge symmetry that is known to occur in nature. The simplest model, minimal technicolor with extended technicolor interactions, is appealing because one can calculate by scaling up from QCD. But it is ruled out on many counts: inappropriately low quark and lepton masses (or excessive FCNC), bad electroweak data fits, light scalar and vector states, etc. However, nature may not choose the minimal model and then we are stuck: except possibly through lattice simulations, we are unable to compute and test the models. In the LHC era it therefore makes sense to abandon specific models (of strong EW breaking) and concentrate on generic features that may indicate discovery. The Technicolor Straw Man is not a model but a parametrized search strategy inspired by a remarkable generic feature of walking technicolor,...

  20. Breaking gold nano-junctions simulation and analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauritzen, Kasper Primdal

    , to predict the structure of a gold junction just as it breaks. This method is based on artificial neural networks and can be used on experimental data, even when it is trained purely on simulated data. The method is extended to other types of experimental traces, where it is trained without the use......Simulating the movements of individual atoms allows us to look at and investigate the physical processes that happen in an experiment. In this thesis I use simulations to support and improve experimental studies of breaking gold nano-junctions. By using molecular dynamics to study gold nanowires, I...... can investigate their breaking forces under varying conditions, like stretching rate or temperature. This resolves a confusion in the literature, where the breaking forces of two different breaking structures happen to coincide. The correlations between the rupture and reformation of a gold junction...

  1. Dynamical study of symmetries: breaking and restauration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuck, P.

    1986-09-01

    First symmetry breaking (spontaneous) is explained and the physical implication discussed for infinite systems. The relation with phase transitions is indicated. Then the specific aspects of symmetry breaking in finite systems is treated and illustrated in detail for the case of translational invariance with the help of an oversimplified but exactly solvable model. The method of projection (restauration of symmetry) is explained for the static case and also applied to the model. Symmetry breaking in the dynamical case and for instance the notion of a soft mode responsible for the symmetry breaking is discussed in the case of superfluidity and another exactly solvable model is introduced. The Goldstone mode is treated in detail. Some remarks on analogies with the breaking of chiral symmetry are made. Some recent developments in the theory of symmetry restauration are briefly outlined [fr

  2. Routinizing Breaking News

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hartley, Jannie Møller

    2011-01-01

    This chapter revisits seminal theoretical categorizations of news proposed three decades earlier by US sociologist Gaye Tuchman. By exploring the definition of ”breaking news” in the contemporary online newsrooms of three Danish news organisations, the author offers us a long overdue re-theorizat......-theorization of journalistic practice in the online context and helpfully explores well-evidenced limitations to online news production, such as the relationship between original reporting and the use of ”shovelware.”......This chapter revisits seminal theoretical categorizations of news proposed three decades earlier by US sociologist Gaye Tuchman. By exploring the definition of ”breaking news” in the contemporary online newsrooms of three Danish news organisations, the author offers us a long overdue re...

  3. Epithelioid sarcoma mimicking abscess: review of the MRI appearances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dion, E.; Forest, M.; Brasseur, J.L.; Grenier, P.; Amoura, Z.

    2001-01-01

    A case of epithelioid sarcoma involving the soft tissue of the ankle is presented. The tumor was a hemorrhagic, fluid-filled, multiloculated lesion with inflammatory changes in the surrounding planes. Tuberculous abscess was diagnosed on the basis of the clinical picture, ultrasound and MRI findings. Surgical exploration of the ankle mass was carried out because of lack of local healing while the patient's general and pulmonary status improved on antituberculosis treatment. This was an unusual case of epithelioid sarcoma mimicking a multilocular abscess. (orig.)

  4. Hızma Induced Papul of Nose Mimicking Pyogenic Granuloma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mualla Polat

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The application of body piercing is popular among young people, who consider it as a sign of marginality, beauty, or group identity. Piercing procedure is observed to cause a large number of complications such as infections, pain, inflammatory reactions, bleeding, dental fractures or fissures, and gingival damage, etc., mostly in young individuals. Hizma is a traditional body ornament worn by Anatolian women via a piercing procedure. Herein, we describe a papule of nose mimicking pyogenic granuloma as an uncommon complication of Hızma.

  5. Possible neuro-Sweet disease mimicking brain tumor in the medulla oblongata--case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akiba, Chihiro; Esaki, Takanori; Ando, Maya; Furuya, Tsuyoshi; Noda, Kazuyuki; Nakao, Yasuaki; Yamamoto, Takuji; Okuma, Yasuyuki; Mori, Kentaro

    2011-01-01

    A 62-year-old male presented with a rare case of possible neuro-Sweet Disease (NSD) mimicking brain tumor in the medulla oblongata, manifesting as numbness in the bilateral upper and lower extremities, gait disturbance, dysarthria, and swallowing disturbance which gradually deteriorated over 3 months. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass lesion in the medulla oblongata, extending to the upper cervical cord with rim enhancement by gadolinium. The preoperative diagnosis was brain tumor, such as glioma, or inflammatory disease. His neurological symptoms gradually deteriorated, so biopsy was performed through the midline suboccipital approach. Histological examination showed infiltration of inflammatory cells, mainly lymphocytes and macrophages. Human leukocyte antigen typing showed Cw1 and B54 which strongly suggested possible NSD. Steroid pulse therapy was started after surgery and the clinical symptoms improved. Neurosurgeons should be aware of inflammatory disorders such as NSD mimicking brain tumor.

  6. Breaking bad news in cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konstantis, Apostolos; Exiara, Triada

    2015-01-01

    In a regional hospital, many patients are newly diagnosed with cancer. Breaking the bad news in these patients and their relatives is a tough task. Many doctors are not experienced in talking to patients about death or death-related diseases. In recent years, there have been great efforts to change the current situation. The aim of this study was to investigate the experience and education of medical personnel in breaking bad news in a secondary hospital. 59 doctors from General Hospital of Komotini, Greece were included in the study. All the doctors were in clinical specialties that treated cancer patients. A brief questionnaire was developed based on current guidelines such as Baile/SPIKES framework and the ABCDE mnemonic. Residents are involved in delivering bad news less frequently than specialists. Only 21 doctors (35.59%) had specific training on breaking bad news. 20 doctors (33.90%) were aware of the available techniques and protocols on breaking bad news. 47 doctors (79.66%) had a consistent plan for breaking bad news. 57 (96.61%) delivered bad news in a quiet place, 53 (89.83%) ensured no interruptions and enough time, 53 (89.83%) used simple words and 54 (91.53%) checked for understanding and did not rush through the news. 46 doctors (77.97%) allowed relatives to determine patient's knowledge about the disease. There were low rates of specific training in breaking bad news. However, the selected location, the physician's speech and their plan were according to current guidelines.

  7. Degenerated uterine leiomyomas mimicking malignant bilateral ovarian surface epithelial tumors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hwang, Yi Boem Ha; Lee, Hae Kyung; Lee, Min Hee; Choi, Seo Youn; Chung, Soo Ho [Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-07-15

    Uterine leiomyomas are the most common benign uterine neoplasms. Undegenerated uterine leiomyomas are easily recognizable by the typical imaging findings on radiologic studies. However, degenerated fibroids can have unusual and variable appearances. The atypical appearances due to degenerative changes may cause confusion in diagnosis of leiomyomas. In this article, we report a case of a patient with extensive cystic and myxoid degeneration of uterine leiomyoma, mimicking malignant bilateral ovarian surface epithelial tumors.

  8. The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa activates the DNA double-strand break signaling and repair pathway in infected cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elsen, S.; Collin-Faure, V.; Gidrol, X.; Lemercier, C.

    2013-01-01

    Highly hazardous DNA double-strand breaks can be induced in eukaryotic cells by a number of agents including pathogenic bacterial strains. We have investigated the genotoxic potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen causing devastating nosocomial infections in cystic fibrosis or immunocompromised patients. Our data revealed that infection of immune or epithelial cells by P. aeruginosa triggered DNA strand breaks and phosphorylation of histone H2AX (γH2AX), a marker of DNA double-strand breaks. Moreover, it induced formation of discrete nuclear repair foci similar to gamma-irradiation-induced foci, and containing γH2AX and 53BP1, an adaptor protein mediating the DNA-damage response pathway. Gene deletion, mutagenesis, and complementation in P. aeruginosa identified ExoS bacterial toxin as the major factor involved in γH2AX induction. Chemical inhibition of several kinases known to phosphorylate H2AX demonstrated that Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) was the principal kinase in P. aeruginosa-induced H2AX phosphorylation. Finally, infection led to ATM kinase activation by an auto-phosphorylation mechanism. Together, these data show for the first time that infection by P. aeruginosa activates the DNA double-strand break repair machinery of the host cells. This novel information sheds new light on the consequences of P. aeruginosa infection in mammalian cells. As pathogenic Escherichia coli or carcinogenic Helicobacter pylori can alter genome integrity through DNA double-strand breaks, leading to chromosomal instability and eventually cancer, our findings highlight possible new routes for further investigations of P. aeruginosa in cancer biology and they identify ATM as a potential target molecule for drug design. (authors)

  9. Cascade of chromosomal rearrangements caused by a heterogeneous T-DNA integration supports the double-stranded break repair model for T-DNA integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yufei; Chen, Zhiyu; Zhuang, Chuxiong; Huang, Jilei

    2017-06-01

    Transferred DNA (T-DNA) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens can be integrated into the plant genome. The double-stranded break repair (DSBR) pathway is a major model for T-DNA integration. From this model, we expect that two ends of a T-DNA molecule would invade into a single DNA double-stranded break (DSB) or independent DSBs in the plant genome. We call the later phenomenon a heterogeneous T-DNA integration, which has never been observed. In this work, we demonstrated it in an Arabidopsis T-DNA insertion mutant seb19. To resolve the chromosomal structural changes caused by T-DNA integration at both the nucleotide and chromosome levels, we performed inverse PCR, genome resequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization and linkage analysis. We found, in seb19, a single T-DNA connected two different chromosomal loci and caused complex chromosomal rearrangements. The specific break-junction pattern in seb19 is consistent with the result of heterogeneous T-DNA integration but not of recombination between two T-DNA insertions. We demonstrated that, in seb19, heterogeneous T-DNA integration evoked a cascade of incorrect repair of seven DSBs on chromosomes 4 and 5, and then produced translocation, inversion, duplication and deletion. Heterogeneous T-DNA integration supports the DSBR model and suggests that two ends of a T-DNA molecule could be integrated into the plant genome independently. Our results also show a new origin of chromosomal abnormalities. © 2017 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Molecule Matters van der Waals Molecules

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 14; Issue 12. Molecule Matters van der Waals Molecules - Noble Gas Clusters are London Molecules! E Arunan. Feature Article Volume 14 Issue 12 December 2009 pp 1210-1222 ...

  11. A Rare Case Report of Bilateral Complex Macrocystic Adrenal Hemorrhage Mimicking Fetal Neuroblastoma

    OpenAIRE

    Sindhwani, Geetika; Patel, Viral; Jain, Abhinav

    2018-01-01

    Fetal and neonatal adrenal glands are large vascular organs, which make them vulnerable to frequent bleeding. Although neonatal adrenal hemorrhage is commonly reported, it is rarely diagnosed on antenatal sonography. We present a rare case of prenatally diagnosed bilateral adrenal hemorrhage, which mimicked antenatal neuroblastoma.

  12. Idelalisib-induced colitis and skin eruption mimicking graft-versus-host disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammami, Muhammad Bader; Al-Taee, Ahmad; Meeks, Marshall; Fesler, Mark; Hurley, M Yadira; Cao, Dengfeng; Lai, Jin-Ping

    2017-04-01

    Idelalisib is a selective inhibitor of the delta isoform of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase which was approved by the United States Federal Drug Administration in 2014 for the treatment of relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia and indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Drug-induced injury of the gastrointestinal tract is a relatively frequent but usually under-recognized disease entity. We report the case of a 56-year-old male with a history of relapsed follicular lymphoma status post allogenic bone marrow transplant who developed severe diarrhea with a skin eruption mimicking graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) 6 months after starting idelalisib. He underwent a colonoscopy demonstrating a grossly normal-appearing colon and terminal ileum. Biopsies taken during the procedure revealed mild active ileitis, colitis, and proctitis with frequent epithelial apoptosis, and focal intra-epithelial lymphocytosis. Skin biopsies revealed sub-acute spongiotic dermatitis suggestive of either contact dermatitis or an eczematous drug reaction. Symptoms were attributed to idelalisib given their resolution with withdrawal of the drug in conjunction with the skin and colonic biopsies. High clinical suspicion and awareness of the histological features of idelalisib-associated colitis is important to distinguish it from potential mimickers such as GVHD and infectious colitis.

  13. Amplified biosensing using the horseradish peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme as an electrocatalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelossof, Gilad; Tel-Vered, Ran; Elbaz, Johann; Willner, Itamar

    2010-06-01

    The hemin/G-quadruplex horseradish peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme is assembled on Au electrodes. It reveals bioelectrocatalytic properties and electrocatalyzes the reduction of H(2)O(2). The bioelectrocatalytic functions of the hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme are used to develop electrochemical sensors that follow the activity of glucose oxidase and biosensors for the detection of DNA or low-molecular-weight substrates (adenosine monophosphate, AMP). Hairpin nucleic structures that include the G-quadruplex sequence in a caged configuration and the nucleic acid sequence complementary to the analyte DNA, or the aptamer sequence for AMP, are immobilized on Au-electrode surfaces. In the presence of the DNA analyte, or AMP, the hairpin structures are opened, and the hemin/G-quadruplex horseradish peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme structures are generated on the electrode surfaces. The bioelectrocatalytic cathodic currents generated by the functionalized electrodes, upon the electrochemical reduction of H(2)O(2), provide a quantitative measure for the detection of the target analytes. The DNA target was analyzed with a detection limit of 1 x 10(-12) M, while the detection limit for analyzing AMP was 1 x 10(-6) M. Methods to regenerate the sensing surfaces are presented.

  14. Overview of IgG4-Related Tubulointerstitial Nephritis and Its Mimickers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyeon Joo Jeong

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN is the most common form of renal involvement in IgG4-related disease. It is characterized by a dominant infiltrate of IgG4-positive plasma cells in the interstitium and storiform fibrosis. Demonstration of IgG4-positive plasma cells is essential for diagnosis, but the number of IgG4-positive cells and the ratio of IgG4-positive/IgG-positive plasma cells may vary from case to case and depending on the methods of tissue sampling even in the same case. IgG4-positive plasma cells can be seen in TIN associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren syndrome, or anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitis, which further add diagnostic confusion and difficulties. To have a more clear view of IgG4-TIN and to delineate differential points from other TIN with IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltrates, clinical and histological features of IgG4-TIN and its mimickers were reviewed. In the rear part, cases suggesting overlap of IgG4-TIN and its mimickers and glomerulonephritis associated with IgG4-TIN were briefly described.

  15. CT findings of foreign body reaction to retained endoloop ligature plastic tube mimicking acute appendicitis: A case report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Jae Hong; Kang, Chae Hoon; Choi, Soo Jung; Park, Man Soo; Jung, Seung Mun; Ryu, Dae Shick; Shin, Dong Rock [Dept. of Radiology, GangNeung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-07-15

    Many hospitals experience one or more retained surgical instrument events with risk of patient morbidity and medicolegal problems. Identification of retained surgical instrument is important. The radiologists should be familiar with imaging finding of retained surgical instrument. In a 62-year-old female with a retained plastic tube, localized peritoneal infiltration around air-containing tubular structure mimicked acute appendicitis on abdomen computed tomography (CT), one year after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We reported CT findings of foreign body reaction related to retained Endoloop ligature plastic tube mimicking acute appendicitis.

  16. CT findings of foreign body reaction to retained endoloop ligature plastic tube mimicking acute appendicitis: A case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Jae Hong; Kang, Chae Hoon; Choi, Soo Jung; Park, Man Soo; Jung, Seung Mun; Ryu, Dae Shick; Shin, Dong Rock

    2016-01-01

    Many hospitals experience one or more retained surgical instrument events with risk of patient morbidity and medicolegal problems. Identification of retained surgical instrument is important. The radiologists should be familiar with imaging finding of retained surgical instrument. In a 62-year-old female with a retained plastic tube, localized peritoneal infiltration around air-containing tubular structure mimicked acute appendicitis on abdomen computed tomography (CT), one year after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We reported CT findings of foreign body reaction related to retained Endoloop ligature plastic tube mimicking acute appendicitis

  17. Yukawa unification in moduli-dominant SUSY breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khalil, S.; Tatsuo Kobayashi

    1997-07-01

    We study Yukawa in string models with moduli-dominant SUSY breaking. This type of SUSY breaking in general leads to non-universal soft masses, i.e. soft scalar masses and gaugino masses. Such non-universality is important for phenomenological aspects of Yukawa unification, i.e., successful electroweak breaking, SUSY corrections to the bottom mass and the branching ratio of b → sγ. We show three regions in the whole parameter space which lead to successful electroweak breaking and allow small SUSY corrections to the bottom mass. For these three regions we investigated the b → sγ decay and mass spectra. (author). 26 refs, 6 figs

  18. Jet simulations and gamma-ray burst afterglow jet breaks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Eerten, H.J.; Meliani, Z.; Wijers, R.A.M.J.; Keppens, R.

    2011-01-01

    The conventional derivation of the gamma-ray burst afterglow jet break time uses only the blast wave fluid Lorentz factor and therefore leads to an achromatic break. We show that in general gamma-ray burst afterglow jet breaks are chromatic across the self-absorption break. Depending on

  19. Jet simulations and gamma-ray burst afterglow jet breaks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Eerten, H. J.; Meliani, Z.; Wijers, R.A.M.J.; Keppens, R.

    2010-01-01

    The conventional derivation of the gamma-ray burst afterglow jet break time uses only the blast wave fluid Lorentz factor and therefore leads to an achromatic break. We show that in general gamma-ray burst afterglow jet breaks are chromatic across the self-absorption break. Depending on

  20. Skills Associated with Line Breaks in Elite Rugby Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steve den Hollander, James Brown, Michael Lambert, Paul Treu, Sharief Hendricks

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The ability of the attacking team to break through the defensive line is a key indicator of success as it creates opportunities to score tries. The aim of this study was to analyse line breaks and identify the associated skills and playing characteristics. The 2013 Super Rugby season (125 games was analysed, in which 362 line breaks were identified and coded using variables that assessed team patterns and non-contact attacking skills in the phases preceding the line break. There was an average of 3 line breaks per game, with 39% of line breaks resulting in a try. Line breaks occurred when the ball-carrier was running fast [61%, x2(4 = 25.784, p = 0.000, Cramer’s v = 0.1922, weak]. At a moderate distance, short lateral passes (19% and skip passes (15% attributed to the highest percentage of line breaks [x2(26 = 50.899, p = 0.036, Cramer’s v = 0.2484, moderate]. Faster defensive line speeds resulted in more line breaks [x2(12 = 61.703, p < 0.001, Cramer’s v = 0.3026, moderate]. Line breaks are associated with overall team success and try scoring opportunities. Awareness of the defenders line speed and depth, fast running speed when receiving the ball and quick passing between attackers to the outside backs creates line break opportunities. During training, coaches should emphasise the movement speed of the ball between attackers and manipulate the speed and distance of the defenders.

  1. Charge-symmetry-breaking nucleon form factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubis, Bastian

    2011-01-01

    A quantitative understanding of charge-symmetry breaking is an increasingly important ingredient for the extraction of the nucleon’s strange vector form factors. We review the theoretical understanding of the charge-symmetry-breaking form factors, both for single nucleons and for 4 He.

  2. A High-Grade Chondrosarcoma of Calcaneum Mimicking as a Benign Pathology: Delayed Diagnosis and Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baba, Muzamil Ahmad; Nazir, Naila; Shabeer, Maajid; Mir, Bashir Ahmed; Kawoosa, Altaf Ahmad

    2016-10-01

    This case is presented to highlight a rare case of chondrosarcoma of calcaneum in a young adult mimicking as a benign pathology and to highlight the diagnosis and early management of such cases to prevent complications and even death. Chondrosarcoma constitutes less than 10% of all primary malignancies of bone and occurs mostly in proximal locations such as pelvis, proximal femur, and proximal humerus. We present a case of high-grade chondrosarcoma at a very rare site, calcaneum of a 40-year-old male that was mimicking as a benign pathology. This case report highlights the importance of proper clinical examination, evaluation, and suspicion for benign occurring lesions to prevent complications related to a delay in diagnosis. Therapeutic, Level IV: Case study. © 2016 The Author(s).

  3. Implications of career break from personal and company perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Vuorinen, Niina

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study is to show the implications that career breaks have on individuals and employers. The intensions are to identify personal motivations for career breaks, and if the breaks change the careers of the people taking them. Furthermore, this study intends to understand how career breaks are viewed by employers, and if career breaks are becoming more acceptable internationally. The theoretical framework was based on description of work and careers both from employee an...

  4. Ewing's sarcoma mimicking a meningioma in radiological findings: a case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwon, Hee Jin; Choi, Sun Seob

    2007-01-01

    Ewing's sarcoma is an uncommon primary bone tumor. Primary Ewing's sarcoma of the cranium is extremely rare and constitutes only 1% of all Ewing's sarcoma cases. Usually, primary Ewing's sarcoma of the carnium manifests as an expansile osteolytic malignant bone tumor with or without intracranial extension. We report here the radiological findings of a case of Ewing's sarcoma mimicking a meningioma in an 18-year-old man

  5. Exquisite Enzyme-Fenton Biomimetic Catalysts for Hydroxyl Radical Production by Mimicking an Enzyme Cascade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qi; Chen, Shuo; Wang, Hua; Yu, Hongtao

    2018-03-14

    Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is a key reactant in the Fenton process. As a byproduct of enzymatic reaction, H 2 O 2 can be obtained via catalytical oxidation of glucose using glucose oxidase in the presence of O 2 . Another oxidation product (gluconic acid) can suitably adjust the microenvironmental pH contributing to the Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ cycle in the Fenton reaction. Enzymes are extremely efficient at catalyzing a variety of reactions with high catalytic activity, substrate specificity, and yields in living organisms. Inspired by the multiple functions of natural multienzyme systems, an exquisite nanozyme-modified α-FeOOH/porous carbon (PC) biomimetic catalyst constructed by in situ growth of glucose oxidase-mimicking Au nanoparticles and crystallization of adsorbed ferric ions within carboxyl into hierarchically PC is developed as an efficient enzyme-Fenton catalyst. The products (H 2 O 2 , ∼4.07 mmol·L -1 ) of the first enzymatic reaction are immediately used as substrates for the second Fenton-like reaction to generate the valuable • OH (∼96.84 μmol·L -1 ), thus mimicking an enzyme cascade pathway. α-FeOOH nanocrystals, attached by C-O-Fe bondings, are encapsulated into the mesoporous PC frameworks, facilitating the electron transfer between α-FeOOH and the PC support and greatly suppressing iron leaching. This study paves a new avenue for designing biomimetic enzyme-based Fenton catalysts mimicking a natural system for • OH production.

  6. Breaking bad news in cancer patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Apostolos Konstantis

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: In a regional hospital, many patients are newly diagnosed with cancer. Breaking the bad news in these patients and their relatives is a tough task. Many doctors are not experienced in talking to patients about death or death-related diseases. In recent years, there have been great efforts to change the current situation. The aim of this study was to investigate the experience and education of medical personnel in breaking bad news in a secondary hospital. Materials and Methods: 59 doctors from General Hospital of Komotini, Greece were included in the study. All the doctors were in clinical specialties that treated cancer patients. A brief questionnaire was developed based on current guidelines such as Baile/SPIKES framework and the ABCDE mnemonic. Results: Residents are involved in delivering bad news less frequently than specialists. Only 21 doctors (35.59% had specific training on breaking bad news. 20 doctors (33.90% were aware of the available techniques and protocols on breaking bad news. 47 doctors (79.66% had a consistent plan for breaking bad news. 57 (96.61% delivered bad news in a quiet place, 53 (89.83% ensured no interruptions and enough time, 53 (89.83% used simple words and 54 (91.53% checked for understanding and did not rush through the news. 46 doctors (77.97% allowed relatives to determine patient′s knowledge about the disease. Conclusions: There were low rates of specific training in breaking bad news. However, the selected location, the physician′s speech and their plan were according to current guidelines.

  7. Duality, exchange-degeneracy breaking, and exotic states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldstein, G.R.; Haridas, P.

    1979-01-01

    We study the connection between exchange-degeneracy breaking and multiquark states within the framework of a highly constrained dual approach. We show that M 4 (baryonium) states emerge at the daughter trajectory level as a consequence of small exchange-degeneracy breaking in the meson-meson system (approx.delta) and larger exchange-degeneracy breaking of the baryon trajectories in the meson-baryon system (approx.epsilon). The M 4 states are coupled weakly to external mesons in proportion to the breaking parameter delta. Assuming M 4 couplings to B-barB channels are strong, as determined by duality with normal mesons in the B-barB system, consistency requires epsilon approx. √delta-bar, thereby relating the larger breaking of baryon trajectories to the violation of the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka-type rule for M 4 . It is shown that exotic baryon states, B 5 , also emerge from this scheme at the daughter level and that dibaryons will appear at the second daughter level

  8. Measurement and statistical analysis of single-molecule current-voltage characteristics, transition voltage spectroscopy, and tunneling barrier height.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Shaoyin; Hihath, Joshua; Díez-Pérez, Ismael; Tao, Nongjian

    2011-11-30

    We report on the measurement and statistical study of thousands of current-voltage characteristics and transition voltage spectra (TVS) of single-molecule junctions with different contact geometries that are rapidly acquired using a new break junction method at room temperature. This capability allows one to obtain current-voltage, conductance voltage, and transition voltage histograms, thus adding a new dimension to the previous conductance histogram analysis at a fixed low-bias voltage for single molecules. This method confirms the low-bias conductance values of alkanedithiols and biphenyldithiol reported in literature. However, at high biases the current shows large nonlinearity and asymmetry, and TVS allows for the determination of a critically important parameter, the tunneling barrier height or energy level alignment between the molecule and the electrodes of single-molecule junctions. The energy level alignment is found to depend on the molecule and also on the contact geometry, revealing the role of contact geometry in both the contact resistance and energy level alignment of a molecular junction. Detailed statistical analysis further reveals that, despite the dependence of the energy level alignment on contact geometry, the variation in single-molecule conductance is primarily due to contact resistance rather than variations in the energy level alignment.

  9. Rotational Symmetry Breaking in Baby Skyrme Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karliner, Marek; Hen, Itay

    We discuss one of the most interesting phenomena exhibited by baby skyrmions - breaking of rotational symmetry. The topics we will deal with here include the appearance of rotational symmetry breaking in the static solutions of baby Skyrme models, both in flat as well as in curved spaces, the zero-temperature crystalline structure of baby skyrmions, and finally, the appearance of spontaneous breaking of rotational symmetry in rotating baby skyrmions.

  10. Charge-symmetry-breaking nucleon form factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubis, Bastian, E-mail: kubis@hiskp.uni-bonn.de [Universitaet Bonn, Helmholtz-Institut fuer Strahlen- und Kernphysik (Theorie) and Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics (Germany)

    2011-11-15

    A quantitative understanding of charge-symmetry breaking is an increasingly important ingredient for the extraction of the nucleon's strange vector form factors. We review the theoretical understanding of the charge-symmetry-breaking form factors, both for single nucleons and for {sup 4}He.

  11. Addison’s Disease Mimicking as Acute Pancreatitis: A Case Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhuri, Sayani; Rao, Karthik N; Ommurugan, Balaji; Varghese, George

    2017-01-01

    Over past two decades there has been significant improvement in medical field in elucidating the underlying pathophysiology and genetics of Addison’s disease. Adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease) is a rare disease with an incidence of 0.8/100,000 cases. The diagnosis may be delayed if the clinical presentation mimics a gastrointestinal disorder or psychiatric illness. We report a case of Addison’s disease presenting as acute pain in abdomen mimicking clinical presentation of acute pancreatitis. PMID:28571196

  12. Occupational Neurobrucellosis Mimicking a Brain Tumor: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hussein Algahtani

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Brucellosis is a zoonotic bacterial infection which is transmitted to humans from infected animals and is endemic in many parts of the world including Saudi Arabia. In this article, we report a case of occupational neurobrucellosis that presented with a space-occupying lesion mimicking a brain tumor. We stress on the importance of obtaining detailed social history including occupation to reach the diagnosis in several conditions including brucellosis. We also stress on taking universal precautions when handling any specimens. It may be advisable that manipulation of all unknown specimens arriving at the laboratory should occur in biological safety cabinet until a highly infectious organism is ruled out. Neurobrucellosis should be included in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with solitary mass lesion mimicking brain tumor especially in endemic areas or high occupational risk group.

  13. Encapsulation of Protonated Diamines in a Water-Soluble Chiral, Supramolecular Assembly Allows for Measurement of Hydrogen-Bond Breaking Followed by Nitrogen Inversion/Rotation (NIR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meux, Susan C.; Pluth, Michael D.; Bergman, Robert G.; Raymond, Kenneth N.

    2007-09-19

    Amine nitrogen inversion, difficult to observe in aqueous solution, is followed in a chiral, supramolecular host molecule with purely-rotational T-symmetry that reduces the local symmetry of encapsulated monoprotonated diamines and enables the observation and quantification of {Delta}G{double_dagger} for the combined hydrogen-bond breaking and nitrogen inversion rotation (NIR) process. Free energies of activation for the combined hydrogen-bond breaking and NIR process inside of the chiral assembly were determined by the NMR coalescence method. Activation parameters for ejection of the protonated amines from the assembly confirm that the NIR process responsible for the coalescence behavior occurs inside of the assembly rather than by a guest ejection/NIR/re-encapsulation mechanism. For one of the diamines, N,N,N{prime},N{prime}-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA), the relative energy barriers for the hydrogen-bond breaking and NIR process were calculated at the G3(MP2)//B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level of theory, and these agreed well with the experimental data.

  14. On the calculation of internal forces in mechanically stressed polyatomic molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avdoshenko, Stanislav M.; Konda, Sai Sriharsha M.; Makarov, Dmitrii E.

    2014-01-01

    We discuss how to define and to compute internal forces in a molecule subjected to mechanical stress. Because of the inherently many-body character of intramolecular interactions, internal forces cannot be uniquely defined without specifying a set of internal coordinates used to describe the molecular structure. When such a set is comprised of 3N − 6 interactomic distances (N being the number of atoms) and includes the bond lengths of interest, we show that the associated forces, while satisfying the equation F = ∂V/∂R (where R is the bond length, F is the internal force in this bond, and V is the potential energy of the molecule), can be determined from the molecular geometry alone. We illustrate these ideas using several toy models ranging from small molecules to a graphene sheet and show that the magnitude of the internal force in a bond is not necessarily a good predictor of its strength in response to mechanical loading. At the same time, analysis of internal forces reveals interesting phenomena such as the force multiplication effect, where weak external forces may, e.g., be used to break strong bonds, and offers insight into the catch-bond phenomenon where chemical reactivity is suppressed through application of a force

  15. Nephrogenic rests mimicking Wilms' tumor on CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Subhas, Naveen; Siegelman, Stanley S. [Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe St., 21287, Baltimore, MD (United States); Argani, Pedram [Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine, 21287, Baltimore, MD (United States); Gearhart, John P. [Department of Pediatric Urology, Brady Urologic Institute, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine, 21287, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2004-02-01

    Nephrogenic rests (NR) are persistent benign remnants of embryonic renal tissue. A small percentage of these may develop into Wilms' tumor (WT). Radiologic imaging is relied upon to differentiate between these entities, with the hallmark of malignant transformation being growth on serial imaging studies. There is, however, considerable overlap in their imaging characteristics. The authors present a case of two biopsy-proven NR in a 2-year-old girl with sporadic aniridia that were indistinguishable from WT on initial radiologic studies. One of the NR grew on serial imaging studies mimicking a WT, but after resection was confirmed to be a benign hyperplastic NR on pathologic examination. (orig.)

  16. Simple bone cyst of mandible mimicking periapical cyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charan Babu HS

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Simple bone cysts (SBC are pseudocysts occurring less commonly in the maxillofacial region. The uncertain and unclear etiopathogenesis led to numerous synonyms to refer this particular cyst. These cysts are devoid of an epithelial lining and are usually empty or contain blood or straw-colored fluid. In jaws initially it mimics a periapical cyst and later can lead to cortical bone expansion warranting for radical approach, which is seldom required. SBC is predominantly diagnosed in first two decades of life. Here we report a case of solitary bone cyst mimicking a periapical cyst of a mandibular molar in a 37-year-old patient.

  17. Femoroacetabular impingement mimicking avascular osteonecrosis on bone scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suarez, Juan Pablo; Domínguez, María Luz; Nogareda, Zulema; Gómez, María Asunción; Muñoz, Jose

    2016-01-01

    Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a structural abnormality of proximal femur and/or acetabulum. It has been recently described, and there are limited reports in nuclear medicine literature because bone scintigraphy is not listed in its diagnostic protocol, but it should be included on differential diagnosis when evaluating patients, with hip-related symptoms because it may be misinterpreted as degenerative changes or avascular necrosis, and its early treatment avoid progression to osteoarthritis. We describe the case of a male who suffered from hip pain. Bone planar scintigraphic appearance mimicked avascular necrosis, but single photon emission computed tomography (CT) imaging and CT examination confirmed the diagnosis of FAI

  18. Molecule Matters van der Waals Molecules

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 15; Issue 7. Molecule Matters van der Waals Molecules - Rg•••HF Complexes are Debye Molecules! E Arunan. Feature Article Volume 15 Issue 7 July 2010 pp 667-674. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

  19. Solution structure of a DNA mimicking motif of an RNA aptamer against transcription factor AML1 Runt domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nomura, Yusuke; Tanaka, Yoichiro; Fukunaga, Jun-ichi; Fujiwara, Kazuya; Chiba, Manabu; Iibuchi, Hiroaki; Tanaka, Taku; Nakamura, Yoshikazu; Kawai, Gota; Kozu, Tomoko; Sakamoto, Taiichi

    2013-12-01

    AML1/RUNX1 is an essential transcription factor involved in the differentiation of hematopoietic cells. AML1 binds to the Runt-binding double-stranded DNA element (RDE) of target genes through its N-terminal Runt domain. In a previous study, we obtained RNA aptamers against the AML1 Runt domain by systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment and revealed that RNA aptamers exhibit higher affinity for the Runt domain than that for RDE and possess the 5'-GCGMGNN-3' and 5'-N'N'CCAC-3' conserved motif (M: A or C; N and N' form Watson-Crick base pairs) that is important for Runt domain binding. In this study, to understand the structural basis of recognition of the Runt domain by the aptamer motif, the solution structure of a 22-mer RNA was determined using nuclear magnetic resonance. The motif contains the AH(+)-C mismatch and base triple and adopts an unusual backbone structure. Structural analysis of the aptamer motif indicated that the aptamer binds to the Runt domain by mimicking the RDE sequence and structure. Our data should enhance the understanding of the structural basis of DNA mimicry by RNA molecules.

  20. Contiguous spinal metastasis mimicking infectious spondylodiscitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Chul Min; Lee, Seung Hun; Bae, Ji Yoon

    2015-01-01

    Differential diagnosis between spinal metastasis and infectious spondylodiscitis is one of the occasional challenges in daily clinical practice. We encountered an unusual case of spinal metastasis in a 75-year-old female breast cancer patient that mimicked infectious spondylodiscitis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed diffuse bone marrow infiltrations with paraspinal soft tissue infiltrative changes in 5 contiguous cervical vertebrae without significant compression fracture or cortical destruction. These MRI findings made it difficult to differentiate between spinal metastasis and infectious spondylodiscitis. Infectious spondylodiscitis such as tuberculous spondylodiscitis was regarded as the more appropriate diagnosis due to the continuous involvement of > 5 cervical vertebrae. The patient's clinical presentation also supported the presumptive diagnosis of infectious spondylodiscitis rather than spinal metastasis. Intravenous antibiotics were administered, but clinical symptoms worsened despite treatment. After pathologic confirmation by computed tomography-guided biopsy, we were able to confirm a final diagnosis of spinal metastasis

  1. Contiguous spinal metastasis mimicking infectious spondylodiscitis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Chul Min; Lee, Seung Hun [Dept. of Radiology, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Bae, Ji Yoon [Dept. of Pathology, National Police Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-12-15

    Differential diagnosis between spinal metastasis and infectious spondylodiscitis is one of the occasional challenges in daily clinical practice. We encountered an unusual case of spinal metastasis in a 75-year-old female breast cancer patient that mimicked infectious spondylodiscitis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed diffuse bone marrow infiltrations with paraspinal soft tissue infiltrative changes in 5 contiguous cervical vertebrae without significant compression fracture or cortical destruction. These MRI findings made it difficult to differentiate between spinal metastasis and infectious spondylodiscitis. Infectious spondylodiscitis such as tuberculous spondylodiscitis was regarded as the more appropriate diagnosis due to the continuous involvement of > 5 cervical vertebrae. The patient's clinical presentation also supported the presumptive diagnosis of infectious spondylodiscitis rather than spinal metastasis. Intravenous antibiotics were administered, but clinical symptoms worsened despite treatment. After pathologic confirmation by computed tomography-guided biopsy, we were able to confirm a final diagnosis of spinal metastasis.

  2. Single-molecule conductance of a chemically modified, π-extended tetrathiafulvalene and its charge-transfer complex with F4TCNQ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl García

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We describe the synthesis and single-molecule electrical transport properties of a molecular wire containing a π-extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF group and its charge-transfer complex with F4TCNQ. We form single-molecule junctions using the in situ break junction technique using a homebuilt scanning tunneling microscope with a range of conductance between 10 G0 down to 10−7 G0. Within this range we do not observe a clear conductance signature of the neutral parent molecule, suggesting either that its conductance is too low or that it does not form a stable junction. Conversely, we do find a clear conductance signature in the experiments carried out on the charge-transfer complex. Due to the fact we expected this species to have a higher conductance than the neutral molecule, we believe this supports the idea that the conductance of the neutral molecule is very low, below our measurement sensitivity. This idea is further supported by theoretical calculations. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first reported single-molecule conductance measurements on a molecular charge-transfer species.

  3. Adsorption of gas molecules on Cu impurities embedded monolayer MoS{sub 2}: A first- principles study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, B.; Li, C.Y. [Hubei Nuclear Solid Physics Key Laboratory, Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Liu, L.L. [Key Lab for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Eduaction, Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Zhou, B.; Zhang, Q.K. [Hubei Nuclear Solid Physics Key Laboratory, Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Chen, Z.Q., E-mail: chenzq@whu.edu.cn [Hubei Nuclear Solid Physics Key Laboratory, Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Tang, Z., E-mail: ztang@ee.ecnu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education of China, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241 (China)

    2016-09-30

    Highlights: • Embedded Cu atom is strongly constrained on the sulfur vacancy of monolayer MoS{sub 2}. • Transition-metal Cu atom can break the chemical inactivation of MoS{sub 2} surface. • MoS{sub 2}-Cu system is a promising for future application in gas molecules sensing. - Abstract: Adsorption of small gas molecules (O{sub 2}, NO, NO{sub 2} and NH{sub 3}) on transition-metal Cu atom embedded monolayer MoS{sub 2} was investigated by first-principles calculations based on the density-functional theory (DFT). The embedded Cu atom is strongly constrained on the sulfur vacancy of monolayer MoS{sub 2} with a high diffusion barrier. The stable adsorption geometry, charge transfer and electronic structures of these gas molecules on monolayer MoS{sub 2} embedded with transition-metal Cu atom are discussed in detail. It is found that the monolayer MoS{sub 2} with embedded Cu atom can effectively capture these gas molecules with high adsorption energy. The NH{sub 3} molecule acts as electron donor after adsorption, which is different from the other gas molecules (O{sub 2}, NO, and NO{sub 2}). The results suggest that MoS{sub 2}-Cu system may be promising for future applications in gas molecules sensing and catalysis, which is similar to those of the transition-metal embedded graphene.

  4. Controlling break-the-glass through alignment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adriansyah, A.; Dongen, van B.F.; Zannone, N.

    2013-01-01

    Modern IT systems have to deal with unpredictable situations and exceptions more and more often. In contrast, security mechanisms are usually very rigid. Functionality like break-the-glass is thus employed to allow users to bypass security mechanisms in case of emergencies. However, break-the-glass

  5. The hidden X-ray breaks in afterglow light curves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curran, P. A.; Wijers, R. A. M. J.; Horst, A. J. van der; Starling, R. L. C.

    2008-01-01

    Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglow observations in the Swift era have a perceived lack of achromatic jet breaks compared to the BeppoSAX, or pre-Swift era. Specifically, relatively few breaks, consistent with jet breaks, are observed in the X-ray light curves of these bursts. If these breaks are truly missing, it has serious consequences for the interpretation of GRB jet collimation and energy requirements, and the use of GRBs as standard candles.Here we address the issue of X-ray breaks which are possibly 'hidden' and hence the light curves are misinterpreted as being single power-laws. We show how a number of precedents, including GRB 990510 and GRB 060206, exist for such hidden breaks and how, even with the well sampled light curves of the Swift era, these breaks may be left misidentified. We do so by synthesising X-ray light curves and finding general trends via Monte Carlo analysis. Furthermore, in light of these simulations, we discuss how to best identify achromatic breaks in afterglow light curves via multi-wavelength analysis

  6. Lifshitz-sector mediated SUSY breaking

    OpenAIRE

    Pospelov, MaximDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada; Tamarit, Carlos(Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, ON, N2L 2Y5, Canada)

    2014-01-01

    We propose a novel mechanism of SUSY breaking by coupling a Lorentz-invariant supersymmetric matter sector to non-supersymmetric gravitational interactions with Lifshitz scaling. The improved UV properties of Lifshitz propagators moderate the otherwise uncontrollable ultraviolet divergences induced by gravitational loops. This ensures that both the amount of induced Lorentz violation and SUSY breaking in the matter sector are controlled by $ {{{\\Lambda_{\\mathrm{HL}}^2}} \\left/ {{M_P^2}} \\righ...

  7. Sensitive and fast detection of fructose in complex media via symmetry breaking and signal amplification using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Fang; Bai, Tao; Zhang, Lei; Ella-Menye, Jean-Rene; Liu, Sijun; Nowinski, Ann K; Jiang, Shaoyi; Yu, Qiuming

    2014-03-04

    A new strategy is proposed to sensitively and rapidly detect analytes with weak Raman signals in complex media using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) via detecting the SERS signal changes of the immobilized probe molecules on SERS-active substrates upon binding of the analytes. In this work, 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA) was selected as the probe molecule which was immobilized on the gold surface of a quasi-three-dimensional plasmonic nanostructure array (Q3D-PNA) SERS substrate to detect fructose. The molecule of 4-MPBA possesses three key functions: molecule recognition and reversible binding of the analyte via the boronic acid group, amplification of SERS signals by the phenyl group and thus shielding of the background noise of complex media, and immobilization on the surface of SERS-active substrates via the thiol group. Most importantly, the symmetry breaking of the 4-MPBA molecule upon fructose binding leads to the change of area ratio between totally symmetric 8a ring mode and nontotally symmetric 8b ring mode, which enables the detection. The detection curves were obtained in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and in undiluted artificial urine at clinically relevant concentrations, and the limit of detection of 0.05 mM was achieved.

  8. Macroscopic chirality of a liquid crystal from nonchiral molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakli, A.; Nair, G. G.; Lee, C. K.; Sun, R.; Chien, L. C.

    2001-01-01

    The transfer of chirality from nonchiral polymer networks to the racemic B2 phase of nonchiral banana-shaped molecules is demonstrated. This corresponds to the transfer of chirality from an achiral material to another achiral material. There are two levels of chirality transfers. (a) On a microscopic level the presence of a polymer network (chiral or nonchiral) favors a chiral state over a thermodynamically stable racemic state due to the inversion symmetry breaking at the polymer-liquid crystal interfaces. (b) A macroscopically chiral (enantimerically enriched) sample can be produced if the polymer network has a helical structure, and/or contains chemically chiral groups. The chirality transfer can be locally suppressed by exposing the liquid crystal to a strong electric field treatment

  9. The effect of interruptions and breaks on insight and impasses: Do you need a break right now?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beeftink, F.; van Eerde, W.; Rutte, C.G.

    2008-01-01

    Some time away from a problem, or incubation time, is found to be beneficial to creative problem solving. But are interruptions as equally helpful as breaks? An experiment was conducted to gain more insight into the differences between imposed and self-initiated breaks, and their effects on

  10. A Rare Case of Recurrent Myoid Hamartoma Mimicking Malignancy: Imaging Appearances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Myung Su; Jung, Won Sang; Choi, Hyun Joo; Cha, Eun Suk

    2010-01-01

    Myoid hamartoma is an uncommon type of breast hamartoma and its recurrence is very rare. We report the imaging appearance of an unusual case of recurrent myoid hamartoma of the breast mimicking malignancy in a 43-year-old woman. Although the mammographic and ultrasonographic findings have long been described in the literature, MR finding with a dynamic study has not, to the best of our knowledge, been reported previously

  11. Developing Autonomous Vehicles That Learn to Navigate by Mimicking Human Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-09-28

    navigate in an unstructured environment to a specific target or location. 15. SUBJECT TERMS autonomous vehicles , fuzzy logic, learning behavior...ANSI-Std Z39-18 Developing Autonomous Vehicles That Learn to Navigate by Mimicking Human Behavior FINAL REPORT 9/28/2006 Dean B. Edwards Department...the future, as greater numbers of autonomous vehicles are employed, it is hoped that lower LONG-TERM GOALS Use LAGR (Learning Applied to Ground Robots

  12. Line-breaking algorithm enhancement in inverse typesetting paradigma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Přichystal

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available High quality text preparing using computer desktop publishing systems usually uses line-breaking algorithm which cannot make provision for line heights and typeset paragraph accurately when composition width, page break, line index or other object appears. This article deals with enhancing of line-breaking algorithm based on optimum-fit algorithm. This algorithm is enhanced with calculation of immediate typesetting width and thus solves problem of forced change. Line-breaking algorithm enhancement causes expansion potentialities of high-quality typesetting in cases that have not been yet covered with present typesetting systems.

  13. Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Genome Editing Using a Chimeric Single-Guide RNA Molecule

    KAUST Repository

    Butt, Haroon

    2017-08-24

    The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been applied in diverse eukaryotic organisms for targeted mutagenesis. However, targeted gene editing is inefficient and requires the simultaneous delivery of a DNA template for homology-directed repair (HDR). Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate targeted double-strand breaks and to deliver an RNA repair template for HDR in rice (Oryza sativa). We used chimeric single-guide RNA (cgRNA) molecules carrying both sequences for target site specificity (to generate the double-strand breaks) and repair template sequences (to direct HDR), flanked by regions of homology to the target. Gene editing was more efficient in rice protoplasts using repair templates complementary to the non-target DNA strand, rather than the target strand. We applied this cgRNA repair method to generate herbicide resistance in rice, which showed that this cgRNA repair method can be used for targeted gene editing in plants. Our findings will facilitate applications in functional genomics and targeted improvement of crop traits.

  14. Supersymmetry Breaking through Transparent Extra Dimensions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmaltz, Martin

    1999-11-23

    We propose a new framework for mediating supersymmetry breaking through an extra dimension. It predicts positive scalar masses and solves the supersymmetric flavor problem. Supersymmetry breaks on a ''source'' brane that is spatially separated from a parallel brane on which the standard model matter fields and their superpartners live. The gauge and gaugino fields propagate in the bulk, the latter receiving a supersymmetry breaking mass from direct couplings to the source brane. Scalar masses are suppressed at the high scale but are generated via the renormalization group. We briefly discuss the spectrum and collider signals for a range of compactification scales.

  15. An unusual case of foreign body aspiration mimicking cavitary tuberculosis in adolescent patient: Thread aspiration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cakir Erkan

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Foreign body aspiration continues to be a serious problem in childhood and adolescent period with significant rate of morbidity and rarely mortality. Half of the foreign body aspiration cases have no history of aspiration. The main foreign bodies inhaled are food fragments and different kinds of metallic objects. A 12-year-old girl was referred to the pediatric pulmonology department for chronic cough and hemoptysis. She had persistent infiltration and cavitary lesion mimicking cavitary tuberculosis. There was no contact history with tuberculosis in her family and acid resistant bacillus was not found in the sputum examination. Flexible bronchoscopy was performed for persistent infiltration and hemoptysis and inflamed thread was found in right lower lobe bronchus. This is the first case of thread inhalation mimicking cavitary tuberculosis in an adolescent patient.

  16. Mimicking natural ecosystems to develop sustainable supply chains : A theory of socio-ecological intergradation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gruner, Richard L.; Power, Damien

    2017-01-01

    For most firms, the development of sustainable supply chain practices remains challenging. Using a theory-building approach, we develop a theory of socio-ecological intergradation to provide managers with guidance in mimicking natural ecosystems to develop more local and thus sustainable supply

  17. Electroweak symmetry breaking in supersymmetric gauge-Higgs unification models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Kiwoon; Jeong, Kwang-Sik; Okumura, Ken-ichi; Haba, Naoyuki; Shimizu, Yasuhiro; Yamaguchi, Masahiro

    2004-01-01

    We examine the Higgs mass parameters and electroweak symmetry breaking in supersymmetric orbifold field theories in which the 4-dimensional Higgs fields originate from higher-dimensional gauge supermultiplets. It is noted that such gauge-Higgs unification leads to a specific boundary condition on the Higgs mass parameters at the compactification scale, which is independent of the details of supersymmetry breaking mechanism. With this boundary condition, phenomenologically viable parameter space of the model is severely constrained by the condition of electroweak symmetry breaking for supersymmetry breaking scenarios which can be realized naturally in orbifold field theories. For instance, if it is assumed that the 4-dimensional effective theory is the minimal supersymmetric standard model with supersymmetry breaking parameters induced by the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism, a correct electroweak symmetry breaking can not be achieved for reasonable range of parameters of the model, even when one includes additional contributions to the Higgs mass parameters from the auxiliary component of 4-dimensional conformal compensator. However if there exists a supersymmetry breaking mediated by brane superfields, sizable portion of the parameter space can give a correct electroweak symmetry breaking. (author)

  18. CT Findings of Foreign Body Reaction to a Retained Endoloop Ligature Plastic Tube Mimicking Acute Appendicitis: A Case Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Jae Hong; Kang, Chae Hoon; Choi, Soo-Jung; Park, Man Soo; Jung, Seung Mun; Ryu, Dae Shick; Shin, Dong Rock [Department of Radiology, Asan Foundation, GangNeung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung 25440 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-11-01

    Many hospitals experience one or more retained surgical instrument events with risk of patient morbidity and medicolegal problems. Identification of retained surgical instrument is important. The radiologists should be familiar with imaging finding of retained surgical instrument. In a 62-year-old female with a retained plastic tube, localized peritoneal infiltration around air-containing tubular structure mimicked acute appendicitis on abdomen computed tomography (CT), one year after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We reported CT findings of foreign body reaction related to retained Endoloop ligature plastic tube mimicking acute appendicitis.

  19. Teflon granulomas mimicking cerebellopontine angle tumors following microvascular decompression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deep, Nicholas L; Graffeo, Christopher S; Copeland, William R; Link, Michael J; Atkinson, John L; Neff, Brian A; Raghunathan, Aditya; Carlson, Matthew L

    2017-03-01

    To report two patients with a history of microvascular decompression (MVD) for hemifacial spasm who presented with Teflon granulomas (TG) mimicking cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors and to perform a systematic review of the English-language literature. Case series at a single tertiary academic referral center and systematic review. Retrospective chart review with analysis of clinical, radiological, and histopathological findings. Systematic review using PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and Web of Science databases. Two patients with large skull base TGs mimicking CPA tumors clinically and radiographically were managed at the authors' institution. The first presented 4 years after MVD with asymmetrical sensorineural hearing loss, multiple progressive cranial neuropathies, and brainstem edema due to a growing TG. Reoperation with resection of the granuloma confirmed a foreign-body reaction consisting of multinucleated giant cells containing intracytoplasmic Teflon particles. The second patient presented 11 years after MVD with asymmetrical sensorineural hearing loss and recurrent hemifacial spasm. No growth was noted over 2 years, and the patient has been managed expectantly. Only one prior case of TG after MVD for hemifacial spasm has been reported in the English literature. TG is a rare complication of MVD for hemifacial spasm. The diagnosis should be suspected in patients presenting with a new-onset enhancing mass of the CPA after MVD, even when performed decades earlier. A thorough clinical and surgical history is critical toward establishing an accurate diagnosis to guide management and prevent unnecessary morbidity. Surgical intervention is not required unless progressive neurologic complications ensue. 4 Laryngoscope, 127:715-719, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  20. Orbital roof encephalocele mimicking a destructive neoplasm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsuhaibani, Adel H; Hitchon, Patrick W; Smoker, Wendy R K; Lee, Andrew G; Nerad, Jeffrey A

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this case report is to report an orbital roof encephalocele mimicking a destructive orbital neoplasm. Orbital roof encephalocele is uncommon but can mimic neoplasm. One potential mechanism for the orbital roof destruction is a post-traumatic "growing orbital roof fracture." The growing fracture has been reported mostly in children but can occur in adults. Alternative potential etiologies for the encephalocele are discussed, including Gorham syndrome. Orbital roof encephalocele is uncommon in adults, and the findings can superficially resemble an orbital neoplasm. Radiographic and clinical features that might suggest the correct diagnosis include a prior history of trauma, overlying frontal lobe encephalomalacia without significant mass effect or edema, and an orbital roof defect. The "growing fracture" mechanism may be a potential explanation for the orbital roof destruction in some cases.

  1. Coincidence cross sections within the quasi free break-up model for elastic projectile break-up

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corcalciuc, V.; Jelitto, H.

    1991-11-01

    Scrutinizing the basic break-up model of Serber we show that it is possible to derive the triple differential cross sections for particle-particle coincidences in analytical form. An alternative interpretation within the opaque version of the model suggests to assign these cross sections to the elastic nonresonant projectile break-up due to the nuclear interaction. Distortion effects by the Coulomb field of the target are included in analogy to the Serber model. Beside the well known single maximum in the break-up spectra double and triple peak structures appear for certain combinations of the observation angles. The model yields reasonable agreement to the given experimental data, concerning the multiple peak structure as well as the order of magnitude for the absolute normalisation. Its application comprises the region of forward emission angles, especially the angular range of the classical Coulomb deflection. (orig.) [de

  2. The Acinar Cage: Basement Membranes Determine Molecule Exchange and Mechanical Stability of Human Breast Cell Acini.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aljona Gaiko-Shcherbak

    Full Text Available The biophysical properties of the basement membrane that surrounds human breast glands are poorly understood, but are thought to be decisive for normal organ function and malignancy. Here, we characterize the breast gland basement membrane with a focus on molecule permeation and mechanical stability, both crucial for organ function. We used well-established and nature-mimicking MCF10A acini as 3D cell model for human breast glands, with ether low- or highly-developed basement membrane scaffolds. Semi-quantitative dextran tracer (3 to 40 kDa experiments allowed us to investigate the basement membrane scaffold as a molecule diffusion barrier in human breast acini in vitro. We demonstrated that molecule permeation correlated positively with macromolecule size and intriguingly also with basement membrane development state, revealing a pore size of at least 9 nm. Notably, an intact collagen IV mesh proved to be essential for this permeation function. Furthermore, we performed ultra-sensitive atomic force microscopy to quantify the response of native breast acini and of decellularized basement membrane shells against mechanical indentation. We found a clear correlation between increasing acinar force resistance and basement membrane formation stage. Most important native acini with highly-developed basement membranes as well as cell-free basement membrane shells could both withstand physiologically relevant loads (≤ 20 nN without loss of structural integrity. In contrast, low-developed basement membranes were significantly softer and more fragile. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the key role of the basement membrane as conductor of acinar molecule influx and mechanical stability of human breast glands, which are fundamental for normal organ function.

  3. Ureteropelvic junction obstruction - mimicking an “elephant head” on magnetic resonance imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sony Bhaskar Mehta

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO with giant hydronephrosis is relatively rare in adults as compared to children. Most of the UPJO reported or seen in daily practice have a distinct hydronephrosis with a narrow ureteropelvic junction and a collapsed ureter distally. We present images a case of an adult female with Left UPJO, which on MRI mimicked an 'elephant head'.

  4. Formation of double-strand breaks in DNA of γ-irradiated bacteria depending on the function of fast repair processes of DNA single-strand breaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, S.I.; Gaziev, A.I.

    1980-01-01

    The formation of double-strand breaks in DNA of γ-irradiated ( 60 Co)Ex coli bacteria depending on the function of fast repair processes of DNA single-strand breaks, is investigated. The profiles of sedimentation of DNA Ex coli cells, irradiated at 0-2 deg C in the salt medium and in EDTA-borate buffer, are presented. It is shown that when irradiating cells in EDTA-borate buffer, the output of single- and double strand breaks in DNA is much higher than in the case of their irradiation in the minimum salt medium. The dependence of output of single-strand and double-strand breaks depending on the radiatier doze of E coli cells in the salt medium and EDTA-borate buffer, is studied. The supposition is made on the presence of a regulative interaction between the accumulation of DNA single-breaks and their repair with the formation of double-strand breaks. The functionating of fast and superfast repair processes considerably affects the formation of double-strand breaks in DNA of a bacterium cell. A considerable amount of double-breaks registered immediately after irradiation forms due to a close position of single-strand breaks on the opposite DNA strands

  5. Carbon ion induced DNA double-strand breaks in melanophore B16

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Zengquan; Zhou Guangming; Wang Jufang; He Jing; Li Qiang; Li Wenjian; Xie Hongmei; Cai Xichen; Tao Huang; Dang Bingrong; Han Guangwu

    1997-01-01

    DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in melanophore B 16 induced by plateau and extended Bragg peak of 75 MeV/u 12 C 6+ ions were studied by using a technique of inverse pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PIGE). DNA fragment lengths were distributed in two ranges: the larger in 1.4 Mbp-3.2 Mbp and the smaller in less than 1.2 Mbp. It indicates that distribution of DNA fragments induced by heavy ion irradiation is not stochastic and there probably are sensitive sites to heavy ions in DNA molecules of B 16 . Percentage of DNA released from plug (PR) increased and trended towards a quasi-plateau ∝85% as dose increased. Content of the larger fragments decreased and flattened with increasing dose while content of the smaller ones increased and trended towards saturation. (orig.)

  6. PWR cold-leg small break loca with faulty HPI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumamaru, H.; Kukita, Y.

    1991-01-01

    The ROSA-IV Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) is a 1/48 volumetrically-scaled model of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). At the LSTF are performed cold-leg small-break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) tests with faulty high pressure injection (HPI) system for break areas from 0.5% to 10% and an intentional primary system depressurization test following a small-break LOCA test. A simple prediction model is proposed for prediction of times of major events. Test data and calculations show that intentional primary system depressurization with use of the pressurizer power-operated relief valves (PORVs) is effective for break areas of approximately 0.5% or less, is unnecessary for breaks of 5% or more, and is insufficient for intermediate break areas to maintain adequate core cooling. (author)

  7. Effect of caffeine on the parameters of the motive and gamma-irradiated DNA molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osipov, N.D.; Kondrat'eva, O.P.; Erisman, Eh.V.

    1979-01-01

    The binding of caffeine with DNA and its pole as a DNA molecule protector against radiational damage have been studied. It is shown that with the ratio of DNA and caffeine concentrations used no complex formation occurs. The irradiation of the DNA solution by 1 krad dose of γ-rays causes only a few single-strand breaks which leads to the decrease in the volume macromolecules without changing its thermodynamic ligidity. The presence of caffeine in the DNA solution before its irradiation decreases considerably the extent of radiational damage

  8. Signatures of dynamics in charge transport through organic molecules; Dynamisches Verhalten beim Ladungstransport durch organische Molekuele

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Secker, Daniel

    2008-06-03

    The aim of the thesis at hand was to investigate dynamical behaviour in charge transport through organic molecules experimentally with the help of the mechanically controlled break junction (MCBJ) technique. the thesis concentrates on the complex interaction between the molecular contact configuration and the electronic structure. it is shown that by variation of the electrode distance and so by a manipulation of the molecule and contact configuration the electronic structure as well as the coupling between the molecule and the electrodes is affected. The latter statement is an additional hint how closely I-V-characteristics depend on the molecular contact configuration. Depending on the applied voltage and so the electric field there are two different configurations preferred by the molecular contact. A potential barrier between these two states is the origin of the hysteresis. A central part of the thesis is dealing with measurements of the current noise. Finally it can be concluded that the detailed discussion reveals the strong effect of dynamical interactions between the atomic configuration of the molecular contact and the electronic structure on the charge transport in single molecule junctions. (orig.)

  9. Dirac neutrino masses from generalized supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demir, D.A.; Everett, L.L.; Langacker, P.

    2007-12-01

    We demonstrate that Dirac neutrino masses in the experimentally preferred range are generated within supersymmetric gauge extensions of the Standard Model with a generalized supersymmetry breaking sector. If the usual superpotential Yukawa couplings are forbidden by the additional gauge symmetry (such as a U(1) ' ), effective Dirac mass terms involving the ''wrong Higgs'' field can arise either at tree level due to hard supersymmetry breaking fermion Yukawa couplings, or at one-loop due to nonanalytic or ''nonholomorphic'' soft supersymmetry breaking trilinear scalar couplings. As both of these operators are naturally suppressed in generic models of supersymmetry breaking, the resulting neutrino masses are naturally in the sub-eV range. The neutrino magnetic and electric dipole moments resulting from the radiative mechanism also vanish at one-loop order. (orig.)

  10. The Coulomb break-up of 9Be

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macdonald, E.W.; Shotter, A.C.; Branford, D.; Rahighi, J.; Davinson, T.; Davis, N.J.

    1992-01-01

    Kinematically complete data is presented on the break-up reaction 120 Sn( 9 Be, 8 Be g.s +n) 120 Sn g.s. at E beam =90 MeV for several scattering angles inside the grazing angle. These data are compared with the predictions of a Coulomb break-up model. It is shown that the data can be understood in terms of the Coulomb model provided some account is taken of the interactions of the break-up fragments with the target. Analysis of the 9 Be break-up data, using radio-isotope measurements of the 9 Be(γ, n) cross-section, indicates that for this photo-disintegration reaction there is probably a significant direct component to the threshold cross-section, in addition to a threshold resonance at 1.69 MeV. (orig.)

  11. Endometriosis After Surgical Menopause Mimicking Pelvic Malignancy: Surgeons’ Predicament

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rani A. Bhat

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Prevalence of persistent endometriosis in women after menopause without any hormonal replacement therapy is very rare. This is a case of a woman with previous history of total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for endometriosis who presented with hemoperitoneum, vaginal bleeding, pelvic mass, and pulmonary thromboembolism mimicking as rectovaginal septum carcinoma. This is the first case report with a unique mode of presentation wherein the patient presented with hemoperitoneum requiring emergency embolization of the vessel to stabilize the patient. She underwent en bloc resection of the tumor with high anterior resection of the rectum. Histopathology confirmed endometriosis.

  12. Lymphocitic infundibuloneurohypophysitis mimicking a pituitary adenoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hubertus Maximilian Mehdorn

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available A rare case of infundibulo-neurohypophysitis mimicking a pituitary adenoma is presented. A 69-years-old female patient developed polyuria and polydipsia. Laboratory analysis revealed central diabetes insipidus. No hormonal abnormalities. Cranial-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI showed a left sided mass in the adenohypophysis presuming a pituitary adenoma. The mass had contact to both internal carotids. Admission to our department for neurosurgical treatment followed. Ophthalmo - logic examination and neurological examination yielded normal findings. A second MRI focussing on the sellar-region showed a leftsided (T2-MRI.hyperintense, distended adenohypophysis, without contrast enhancement in T1. The stalk appeared thickened. T1- weighted sequences of the neurohypophysis showed loss of signal intensity. We diagnosed an infundibulo-neurohypophysitis and abstai - ned from surgical removal. The patient was discharged under treatment with corticosteroids and desmopressin. Hypophysitis is rare and shows special clinical characteristics. Despite defined radiological features to differentiate between hypophysitis and adenoma the possibility of misdiagnosis, and unnecessary surgical procedures, should always kept in mind.

  13. Acute perimyocarditis mimicking transmural myocardial infarction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omar Hesham R

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Although acute pericarditis has charachteristic electrocardiographic (ECG findings that differentiate it from acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI; in certain cases diagnosis is somewhat difficult especially when the ECG reveals focal instead of diffuse changes and moreover when pericarditis is associated with an underlying myocarditis causing elevation of the cardiac biomarkers therefore increasing the difficulty in differentiating between both enteties. This is especially important because adverse lethal side effect can occur if thrombolytic therapy is administered for a patient with acute pericarditis, or if a diagnosis of transmural MI is missed. In this case report we are describing an 18 year old male patient who presented with an acute onset of severe chest pain associated with focal ECG changes and elevated cardiac enzymes mimicking transmural MI. This report aims to sensitize readers to this debate and create awareness among cardiologists and intensivists with both presentations and how to reach an accurate diagnosis.

  14. [A giant myxoid leiomyoma mimicking an inguinal hernia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huszár, Orsolya; Zaránd, Attila; Szántó, Gyöngyi; Juhász, Viktória; Székely, Eszter; Novák, András; Molnár, Béla Ákos; Harsányi, László

    2016-03-06

    Leiomyoma is a rare, smooth muscle tumour that can occur everywhere in the human body. The authors present the history of a 60-year-old female, who had a giant, Mullerian type myxoid leiomyoma in the inguinal region mimicking acute abdominal symptoms. After examination the authors removed the soft tissue mass in the right femoral region reaching down in supine position to the middle third of the leg measuring 335 × 495 × 437 mm in greatest diameters in weight 33 kg. Reconstruction of the tissue defect was performed using oncoplastic guidelines. During the follow-up time no tumour recurrence was detected and the quality of life of the patient improved significantly.

  15. Endometriosis mimicking the perianal fistula tract: Case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gül Türkcü

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity. Nowadays, in many cases, although routine use of episiotomy perineal endo metriosis is extremely rare. A 36 year old female patient was referred to our hospital with complaints of pain in the perianal region for five months. On physical examination, stiffness was palpated and then magnetic resonance im aging (MRI was performed. MRI is compatible with fistula tract. The lesion was excised and the histopathological appearance correspond to endometriosis. Perianal endo metriosis is rare in the perianal region and in the clinic mimicking perianal fistulas and malignancy should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis

  16. Enterobiasis in Ectopic Locations Mimicking Tumor-Like Lesions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvio Pampiglione

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Both the clinical and the histopathological diagnostic difficulties of oxyuriasis in unusual sites and their importance from a clinical point of view are pointed out. The authors report two ectoptic cases of enterobiasis observed in Northern Italy, one located in a fallopian tube of a 57-year-old woman and the other in a perianal subcutaneous tissue of a 59-year-old man, mimicking tumor-like lesions. The authors take advantage of the occasion to focus the attention of the medical world on this subject, lamenting the scarce importance given to this parasitosis in university courses of medical schools and in medical textbooks as it is incorrectly considered “out-of-fashion.”

  17. Musculoskeletal injuries in break-dancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Chul Hyun; Song, Kwang Soon; Min, Byung Woo; Lee, Sung Moon; Chang, Hyuk Won; Eum, Dae Seup

    2009-11-01

    Since no epidemiologic studies have been reported about musculoskeletal injuries in break-dancers, there are no data on the rates and patterns of musculoskeletal injuries in this population that clinicians can use to find ways to decrease injury rate. We believe that the incidence of injuries in break-dancers is higher than assumed and that injury rates and patterns differ between professional and amateur dancers. Descriptive epidemiologic study. Of a total of 42 study subjects, 23 were professional dancers and 19 were amateur dancers. Injury frequency, site and type, along with the presence of supervised training, the use of protective devices and warm-up exercises done were recorded. Of the 42 study subjects, excluding two amateur dancers, 40 (95.2%) had had musculoskeletal injuries at more than one site. The mean number of sites per dancer was 4.60. The frequency of injury depended on the site and was as follows: wrist (69.0%), finger (61.9%), knee (61.9%), shoulder (52.4%), lumbar spine (50.0%), elbow (42.9%), cervical spine (38.1%), ankle (38.1%), foot (28.6%) and hip (16.7%). Sprain, strain and tendinitis were the most common injuries, accounting for the most cases. Of the 42 dancers, 13 (31%) had had fractures or dislocations. Eight (19.1%) learned break-dancing under supervised instruction, 17 (40.5%) used protective devices and 28 (66.7%) performed warm-up exercises before dancing. There were significant differences in age, dance career length, amount of dance training, mean number of injury sites and the presence of supervised training between professionals and amateurs (Pnature of the activities that result in both unusual and common injuries in break-dancers and educate them about safety. Careful screening, instruction and supervised training of break-dancers will help to prevent injuries.

  18. SUSY breaking mediation by throat fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruemmer, F.; Hebecker, A.; Trapletti, M.

    2006-01-01

    We investigate, in the general framework of KKLT, the mediation of supersymmetry breaking by fields propagating in the strongly warped region of the compactification manifold ('throat fields'). Such fields can couple both to the supersymmetry breaking sector at the IR end of the throat and to the visible sector at the UV end. We model the supersymmetry breaking sector by a chiral superfield which develops an F term vacuum expectation value (also responsible for the uplift). It turns out that the mediation effect of vector multiplets propagating in the throat can compete with modulus-anomaly mediation. Moreover, such vector fields are naturally present as the gauge fields arising from isometries of the throat (most notably the SO(4) isometry of the Klebanov-Strassler solution). Their mediation effect is important in spite of their large 4d mass. The latter is due to the breaking of the throat isometry by the compact manifold at the UV end of the throat. The contribution from heavy chiral superfields is found to be subdominant

  19. ANALISA BREAK EVENT POINT (BEP TERHADAP LABA PERUSAHAAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Yusuf

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Break event point or the break-even point can be defined as a situation where the operating company does not make a profit and not a loss. The goal is to provide the knowledge to increase knowledge about the break event point (the point of principal and its relationship with the company profit and to know how the results of the. Analysis break event point is very important for the leadership of the company to determine the production rate how much the cost will be equal to the amount of sales or in other words to determine the break event point we will determine the relationship between sales, production, selling price, cost, loss or profit, making it easier for leaders to take discretion.DOI: 10.15408/ess.v4i1.1955 

  20. Targeting oncomiRNAs and mimicking tumor suppressor miRNAs: New trends in the development of miRNA therapeutic strategies in oncology (Review)

    Science.gov (United States)

    GAMBARI, ROBERTO; BROGNARA, ELEONORA; SPANDIDOS, DEMETRIOS A.; FABBRI, ENRICA

    2016-01-01

    MicroRNA (miRNA or miR) therapeutics in cancer are based on targeting or mimicking miRNAs involved in cancer onset, progression, angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis. Several studies conclusively have demonstrated that miRNAs are deeply involved in tumor onset and progression, either behaving as tumor-promoting miRNAs (oncomiRNAs and metastamiRNAs) or as tumor suppressor miRNAs. This review focuses on the most promising examples potentially leading to the development of anticancer, miRNA-based therapeutic protocols. The inhibition of miRNA activity can be readily achieved by the use of miRNA inhibitors and oligomers, including RNA, DNA and DNA analogues (miRNA antisense therapy), small molecule inhibitors, miRNA sponges or through miRNA masking. On the contrary, the enhancement of miRNA function (miRNA replacement therapy) can be achieved by the use of modified miRNA mimetics, such as plasmid or lentiviral vectors carrying miRNA sequences. Combination strategies have been recently developed based on the observation that i) the combined administration of different antagomiR molecules induces greater antitumor effects and ii) some anti-miR molecules can sensitize drug-resistant tumor cell lines to therapeutic drugs. In this review, we discuss two additional issues: i) the combination of miRNA replacement therapy with drug administration and ii) the combination of antagomiR and miRNA replacement therapy. One of the solid results emerging from different independent studies is that miRNA replacement therapy can enhance the antitumor effects of the antitumor drugs. The second important conclusion of the reviewed studies is that the combination of anti-miRNA and miRNA replacement strategies may lead to excellent results, in terms of antitumor effects. PMID:27175518

  1. Magnetic field modification of ultracold molecule-molecule collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tscherbul, T V; Suleimanov, Yu V; Aquilanti, V; Krems, R V

    2009-01-01

    We present an accurate quantum mechanical study of molecule-molecule collisions in the presence of a magnetic field. The work focuses on the analysis of elastic scattering and spin relaxation in collisions of O 2 ( 3 Σ g - ) molecules at cold (∼0.1 K) and ultracold (∼10 -6 K) temperatures. Our calculations show that magnetic spin relaxation in molecule-molecule collisions is extremely efficient except at magnetic fields below 1 mT. The rate constant for spin relaxation at T=0.1 K and a magnetic field of 0.1 T is found to be as large as 6.1x10 -11 cm -3 s -1 . The magnetic field dependence of elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections at ultracold temperatures is dominated by a manifold of Feshbach resonances with the density of ∼100 resonances per Tesla for collisions of molecules in the absolute ground state. This suggests that the scattering length of ultracold molecules in the absolute ground state can be effectively tuned in a very wide range of magnetic fields. Our calculations demonstrate that the number and properties of the magnetic Feshbach resonances are dramatically different for molecules in the absolute ground and excited spin states. The density of Feshbach resonances for molecule-molecule scattering in the low-field-seeking Zeeman state is reduced by a factor of 10.

  2. Smart molecules at work--mimicking advanced logic operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andréasson, Joakim; Pischel, Uwe

    2010-01-01

    Molecular logic is an interdisciplinary research field, which has captured worldwide interest. This tutorial review gives a brief introduction into molecular logic and Boolean algebra. This serves as the basis for a discussion of the state-of-the-art and future challenges in the field. Representative examples from the most recent literature including adders/subtractors, multiplexers/demultiplexers, encoders/decoders, and sequential logic devices (keypad locks) are highlighted. Other horizons, such as the utility of molecular logic in bio-related applications, are discussed as well.

  3. Controlling the formation process and atomic structures of single pyrazine molecular junction by tuning the strength of the metal-molecule interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaneko, Satoshi; Takahashi, Ryoji; Fujii, Shintaro; Nishino, Tomoaki; Kiguchi, Manabu

    2017-04-12

    The formation process and atomic structures were investigated for single pyrazine molecular junctions sandwiched by three different Au, Ag, and Cu electrodes using a mechanically controllable break junction technique in ultrahigh vacuum conditions at 300 K. We demonstrated that the formation process of the single-molecule junction crucially depended on the choice of the metal electrodes. While single-molecule junction showing two distinct conductance states were found for the Au electrodes, only the single conductance state was evident for the Ag electrodes, and there was no junction formation for the Cu electrodes. These results suggested that metal-molecule interaction dominates the formation process and probability of the single-molecule junction. In addition to the metal-molecule interaction, temperature affected the formation process of the single-molecule junction. The single pyrazine molecular junction formed between Au electrodes exhibited significant temperature dependence where the junction-formation probability was about 8% at 300 K, while there was no junction-formation at 100 K. Instead of the junction formation, an Au atomic wire was formed at the low temperature. This study provides insight into the tuning of the junction-forming process for single-molecule junctions, which is needed to construct device structures on a single molecule scale.

  4. Liver-cell patterning lab chip: mimicking the morphology of liver lobule tissue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Chen-Ta; Lin, Ruei-Zeng; Chen, Rong-Jhe; Chin, Chung-Kuang; Gong, Song-En; Chang, Hwan-You; Peng, Hwei-Ling; Hsu, Long; Yew, Tri-Rung; Chang, Shau-Feng; Liu, Cheng-Hsien

    2013-09-21

    A lobule-mimetic cell-patterning technique for on-chip reconstruction of centimetre-scale liver tissue of heterogeneous hepatic and endothelial cells via an enhanced field-induced dielectrophoresis (DEP) trap is demonstrated and reported. By mimicking the basic morphology of liver tissue, the classic hepatic lobule, the lobule-mimetic-stellate-electrodes array was designed for cell patterning. Through DEP manipulation, well-defined and enhanced spatial electric field gradients were created for in-parallel manipulation of massive individual cells. With this liver-cell patterning labchip design, the original randomly distributed hepatic and endothelial cells inside the microfluidic chamber can be manipulated separately and aligned into the desired pattern that mimicks the morphology of liver lobule tissue. Experimental results showed that both hepatic and endothelial cells were orderly guided, snared, and aligned along the field-induced orientation to form the lobule-mimetic pattern. About 95% cell viability of hepatic and endothelial cells was also observed after cell-patterning demonstration via a fluorescent assay technique. The liver function of CYP450-1A1 enzyme activity showed an 80% enhancement for our engineered liver tissue (HepG2+HUVECs) compared to the non-patterned pure HepG2 for two-day culturing.

  5. The structure of GUT breaking by orbifolding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hebecker, Arthur; March-Russell, John

    2002-01-01

    Recently, an attractive model of GUT breaking has been proposed in which a 5-dimensional supersymmetric SU(5) gauge theory on an S 1 /(Z 2 xZ 2 ') orbifold is broken down to the 4d MSSM by SU(5)-violating boundary conditions. Motivated by this construction and several related realistic models, we investigate the general structure of orbifolds in the effective field theory context, and of this orbifold symmetry breaking mechanism in particular. An analysis of the group theoretic structure of orbifold breaking is performed. This depends upon the existence of appropriate inner and outer automorphisms of the Lie algebra, and we show that a reduction of the rank of the GUT group is possible. Some aspects of larger GUT theories based on SO(10) and E 6 are discussed. We explore the possibilities of defining the theory directly on a space with boundaries and breaking the gauge symmetry by more general consistently chosen boundary conditions for the fields. Furthermore, we derive the relation of orbifold breaking with the familiar mechanism of Wilson line breaking, finding a one-to-one correspondence, both conceptually and technically. Finally, we analyse the consistency of orbifold models in the effective field theory context, emphasizing the necessity for self-adjoint extensions of the Hamiltonian and other conserved operators, and especially the highly restrictive anomaly cancellation conditions that apply if the bulk theory lives in more than 5 dimensions

  6. Microwave-assisted rock breaking modelling and application

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Monchusi, B

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available As part of the ongoing development of novel mining methods, the CSIR has developed alternative methods to break rocks. In this case, we show the application of microwave energy to break narrow tabular ore bodies....

  7. Higgsless grand unified theory breaking and trinification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carone, Christopher D.; Conroy, Justin M.

    2004-01-01

    Boundary conditions on an extra dimensional interval can be chosen to break bulk gauge symmetries and to reduce the rank of the gauge group. We consider this mechanism in models with gauge trinification. We determine the boundary conditions necessary to break the trinified gauge group directly down to that of the standard model. Working in an effective theory for the gauge-symmetry-breaking parameters on a boundary, we examine the limit in which the grand-unified theory-breaking-sector is Higgsless and show how one may obtain the low-energy particle content of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. We find that gauge unification is preserved in this scenario, and that the differential gauge coupling running is logarithmic above the scale of compactification. We compare the phenomenology of our model to that of four dimensional 'trinified' theories

  8. Nearshore bars and the break-point hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sallenger, A.H.; Howd, P.A.

    1989-01-01

    The set of hypotheses calling for bar formation at the break point was tested with field data. During two different experiments, waves were measured across the surf zone coincident with the development of a nearshore bar. We use a criterion, based on the wave height to depth ratio, to determine the offshore limit of the inner surf zone. During the first experiment, the bar became better developed and migrated offshore while remaining well within the inner surf zone. During the second experiment, the surf zone was narrower and we cannot rule out the possibility of break point processes contributing to bar development. We conclude that bars are not necessarily coupled with the break point and can become better developed and migrate offshore while being in the inner surf zone landward from initial wave breaking in the outer surf zone. ?? 1989.

  9. Best estimate small break LOCA analysis for KNGR SIS optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, JIn Ho; Lim, Hong Sik; Bae, Kyoo Hwan; Lee, Joon

    1996-01-01

    The KNGR has an advanced ECCS design feature which employs four mechanically-separated SI trains where each train consisting of one HPSI pump and one SIT injects ECC water directly into the reactor vessel downcomer annulus. To demonstrate that the KNGR ECCS design features meet the EPRI ALWR requirements of no core uncovery for a break of up to 6 inch diameter, small break LOCA cases with various break sizes were analyzed using a best-estimate analytical procedure. Two kinds of break locations are considered: cold leg and DVI line breaks. It was observed that the KNGR ECCS design can tolerate a cold leg break of up to 10 inches with no core uncovery. However, since DVI line break with 6 inch diameter undergoes slight core uncovery, further investigation is required for KNGR SIS optimization

  10. Magnetic Molecules from Chemist's Point of View

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrickson, David

    2002-03-01

    A single-molecule magnet (SMM) is a molecule that functions as a nanoscale, single-domain magnetic particle that, below its blocking temperature, exhibits magnetization hysteresis [1]. SMMs have attracted considerable interest because they : (1) can serve as the smallest nanomagnet, monodisperse in size, shape and anisotropy; (2) exhibit quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM); and (3) may function as memory devices in a quantum computer. SMM’s are synthetically designed nanomagnets, built from a core containing metal ion unpaired spin carriers bridged by oxide or other simple ions which is surrounded by organic ligands. Many systematic changes can be made in the structure of these molecular nanomagnets. Manganese-containing SMM’s are known with from Mn4 to Mn_30 compositions. The magnetic bistability, which is desirable for data storage applications, is achievable at temperatures below 3K. The largest spin of the ground state of a SMM is presently S = 13. Appreciable largely uniaxial magnetoanisotropy in the ground state leads to magnetic bistability. Rather than a continuum of higher energy states separating the “spin-up” and “spin-down” ground states, the quantum nature of the molecular nanomagnets result in a well defined ladder of discrete quantum states. Recent studies have definitively shown that, under conditions that can be controlled via the application of external perturbations, quantum tunneling may occur through the energy separating the “spin-up” and “spin-down” states. The tunneling is due to weak symmetry breaking perturbations that give rise to long-lived quantum states consisting of coherent superpositions of the “spin-up” and “spin-down” states. It is the ability to manipulate these coherent states that makes SMMs particularly attractive for quantum computation. Reference: [1] G. Christou, D. Gatteschi, D. N. Hendrickson, R. Sessoli, “Single-molecule Magnets”, M.R.S. Bull. 25, 66 (2001).

  11. BWR recirculation loop discharge line break LOCA tests with break areas of 50 and 100% assuming HPCS failure at ROSA-III test facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Mitsuhiro; Tasaka, Kanji; Yonomoto, Taisuke; Anoda, Yoshinari; Kumamaru, Hiroshige; Nakamura, Hideo; Murata, Hideo; Shiba, Masayoshi; Iriko, Masanori.

    1985-03-01

    This report presents the experimental results of RUN 962 and RUN 963 in ROSA-III program, which are 50 and 100 % break LOCA tests at the BWR recirculation pump discharge line, respectively. The ROSA-III test facility simulates a volumetrically scaled (1/424) BWR system and has four half-length electrically heated fuel bundles, two active recirculation loops, three types of ECCSs and steam and feedwater systems. The experimental data of RUN 962 and RUN 963 were compared with those of RUN 961, a 200 % discharge line break test to study the break area effects on the transient thermal hydraulic phenomena. The least flow areas at the jet pump drive nozzles and recirculation pump discharge nozzle in the broken recirculation loop limitted the discharge flows from the pressure vessel and the depressurization rate in the 100 and 200 % break tests, whereas the least flow area at break nozzle limitted the depressurization rate in the 50 % break test. The highest PCT was observed in the 50 % break test among the three tests. (author)

  12. Dynamical Symmetry Breaking of Extended Gauge Symmetries

    OpenAIRE

    Appelquist, Thomas; Shrock, Robert

    2003-01-01

    We construct asymptotically free gauge theories exhibiting dynamical breaking of the left-right, strong-electroweak gauge group $G_{LR} = {\\rm SU}(3)_c \\times {\\rm SU}(2)_L \\times {\\rm SU}(2)_R \\times {\\rm U}(1)_{B-L}$, and its extension to the Pati-Salam gauge group $G_{422}={\\rm SU}(4)_{PS} \\times {\\rm SU}(2)_L \\times {\\rm SU}(2)_R$. The models incorporate technicolor for electroweak breaking, and extended technicolor for the breaking of $G_{LR}$ and $G_{422}$ and the generation of fermion ...

  13. Molecular physics. Production of trilobite Rydberg molecule dimers with kilo-Debye permanent electric dipole moments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booth, D; Rittenhouse, S T; Yang, J; Sadeghpour, H R; Shaffer, J P

    2015-04-03

    Permanent electric dipole moments are important for understanding symmetry breaking in molecular physics, control of chemical reactions, and realization of strongly correlated many-body quantum systems. However, large molecular permanent electric dipole moments are challenging to realize experimentally. We report the observation of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules with bond lengths of ~100 nanometers and kilo-Debye permanent electric dipole moments that form when an ultracold ground-state cesium (Cs) atom becomes bound within the electronic cloud of an extended Cs electronic orbit. The electronic character of this hybrid class of "trilobite" molecules is dominated by degenerate Rydberg manifolds, making them difficult to produce by conventional photoassociation. We used detailed coupled-channel calculations to reproduce their properties quantitatively. Our findings may lead to progress in ultracold chemistry and strongly correlated many-body physics. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  14. A mapping of drug space from the viewpoint of small molecule metabolism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Corey Adams

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Small molecule drugs target many core metabolic enzymes in humans and pathogens, often mimicking endogenous ligands. The effects may be therapeutic or toxic, but are frequently unexpected. A large-scale mapping of the intersection between drugs and metabolism is needed to better guide drug discovery. To map the intersection between drugs and metabolism, we have grouped drugs and metabolites by their associated targets and enzymes using ligand-based set signatures created to quantify their degree of similarity in chemical space. The results reveal the chemical space that has been explored for metabolic targets, where successful drugs have been found, and what novel territory remains. To aid other researchers in their drug discovery efforts, we have created an online resource of interactive maps linking drugs to metabolism. These maps predict the "effect space" comprising likely target enzymes for each of the 246 MDDR drug classes in humans. The online resource also provides species-specific interactive drug-metabolism maps for each of the 385 model organisms and pathogens in the BioCyc database collection. Chemical similarity links between drugs and metabolites predict potential toxicity, suggest routes of metabolism, and reveal drug polypharmacology. The metabolic maps enable interactive navigation of the vast biological data on potential metabolic drug targets and the drug chemistry currently available to prosecute those targets. Thus, this work provides a large-scale approach to ligand-based prediction of drug action in small molecule metabolism.

  15. A mapping of drug space from the viewpoint of small molecule metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, James Corey; Keiser, Michael J; Basuino, Li; Chambers, Henry F; Lee, Deok-Sun; Wiest, Olaf G; Babbitt, Patricia C

    2009-08-01

    Small molecule drugs target many core metabolic enzymes in humans and pathogens, often mimicking endogenous ligands. The effects may be therapeutic or toxic, but are frequently unexpected. A large-scale mapping of the intersection between drugs and metabolism is needed to better guide drug discovery. To map the intersection between drugs and metabolism, we have grouped drugs and metabolites by their associated targets and enzymes using ligand-based set signatures created to quantify their degree of similarity in chemical space. The results reveal the chemical space that has been explored for metabolic targets, where successful drugs have been found, and what novel territory remains. To aid other researchers in their drug discovery efforts, we have created an online resource of interactive maps linking drugs to metabolism. These maps predict the "effect space" comprising likely target enzymes for each of the 246 MDDR drug classes in humans. The online resource also provides species-specific interactive drug-metabolism maps for each of the 385 model organisms and pathogens in the BioCyc database collection. Chemical similarity links between drugs and metabolites predict potential toxicity, suggest routes of metabolism, and reveal drug polypharmacology. The metabolic maps enable interactive navigation of the vast biological data on potential metabolic drug targets and the drug chemistry currently available to prosecute those targets. Thus, this work provides a large-scale approach to ligand-based prediction of drug action in small molecule metabolism.

  16. Tracheobronchial Amyloidosis Mimicking Tracheal Tumor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elif Tanrıverdi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Tracheobronchial amyloidosis is a rare presentation and accounts for about 1% of benign tumors in this area. The diagnosis of disease is delayed due to nonspecific pulmonary symptoms. Therapeutic approaches are required to control progressive pulmonary symptoms for most of the patients. Herein, we report a case of a 68-year-old man admitted with progressive dyspnea to our institution for further evaluation and management. He was initially diagnosed with and underwent management for bronchial asthma for two years but had persistent symptoms despite optimal medical therapy. Pulmonary computed tomography scan revealed severe endotracheal stenosis. Bronchoscopy was performed and showed endotracheal mass obstructing 70% of the distal trachea and mimicking a neoplastic lesion. The mass was successfully resected by mechanical resection, argon plasma coagulation (APC, and Nd-YAG laser during rigid bronchoscopy. Biopsy materials showed deposits of amorphous material by hematoxylin and eosin staining and these deposits were selectively stained with Congo Red. Although this is a rare clinical condition, this case indicated that carrying out a bronchoscopy in any patient complaining of atypical bronchial symptoms or with uncontrolled asthma is very important.

  17. Nonrandom distribuion of chromosome breaks in cultured lymphocytes of normal subjects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ayme, S.; Mattei, J.F.; Mattei, M.G.; Aurran, Y.; Giraud, F.

    1976-02-29

    Breakpoint distribution was studied from cultured lymphocytes on 7653 metaphases from 524 subjects whose karyotypes were normal. The mean break rate was 5% in both sexes. The frequency increased significantly after 40 years and varied during the year. The location of the breaks was very different from the expected random distribution. The break frequency for each chromosome was different according to the type of break (chromatid, simple chromosomal and chromosomal involving rearrangements). The location of the breaks was also studied according to the type of band and with respect to the centromere. A comparison between spontaneous breaks, x-ray induced breaks, breaks in Fanconi's anemia and in congenital rearrangements, show very significant differences.

  18. Taking snapshots of photoexcited molecules in disordered media using pulsed synchrotron x-rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, L.X.

    2004-01-01

    Photoexcited molecules are quintessential reactants in photochemistry. Structures of these photoexcited molecules in disordered media in which a majority of photochemical reactions take place remained elusive for decades owing to a lack of suitable X-ray sources, despite their importance in understanding fundamental aspects in photochemistry. As new pulsed X-ray sources become available, short-lived excited-state molecular structures in disordered media can now be captured by using laser-pulse pump, X-ray pulse-probe techniques of third-generation synchrotron sources with time resolutions of 30-100 ps, as demonstrated by examples in this review. These studies provide unprecedented information on structural origins of molecular properties in the excited states. By using other ultrafast X-ray facilities that will be completed in the near future, time-resolution for the excited-state structure measurements should reach the femtosecond timescales, which will make 'molecular movies' of bond breaking or formation, and vibrational relaxation, a reality.

  19. Increased fetal endocardial echogenicity mimicking endocardial fibroelastosis following maternal organophosphorus poisoning and its complete regression in utero

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balakumar, Karippaliyil; Misha, Kannan; Milind, Karippaliyil

    2013-01-01

    Fetal endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) has been diagnosed by antenatal ultrasonography in the past few years. A typical case of isolated endocardial fibroelastosis is illustrated here, in a fetus of 22 weeks of gestational age exposed to maternal organophosphorus poisoning at 20 weeks. No other structural cardiac or other systemic anomalies were detected in this fetus. The abnormal fetal echocardiographic features mimicking endocardial fibroelastosis completely regressed after 14 weeks and a normal full-term baby was delivered. Postnatal echocardiogram showed normal cardiac parameters. The diagnostic features mimicking EFE following maternal organophosphorus poisoning at 20 weeks of gestational age and the subsequent complete reversal of these changes after 14 weeks of diagnosis are reported for the first time in the literature

  20. Pre-university Chemistry Students in a Mimicked Scholarly Peer Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rens, Lisette; Hermarij, Philip; Pilot, Albert; Beishuizen, Jos; Hofman, Herman; Wal, Marjolein

    2014-10-01

    Peer review is a significant component in scientific research. Introducing peer review into inquiry processes may be regarded as an aim to develop student understanding regarding quality in inquiries. This study examines student understanding in inquiry peer reviews among pre-university chemistry students, aged 16-17, when they enact a design of a mimicked scholarly peer review. This design is based on a model of a human activity system. Twenty-five different schools in Brazil, Germany, Poland and The Netherlands participated. The students (n = 880) conducted in small groups (n = 428) open inquiries on fermentation. All groups prepared an inquiry report for peer review. These reports were published on a website. Groups were randomly paired in an internet symposium, where they posted review comments to their peers. These responses were qualitatively analyzed on small groups' level of understanding regarding seven categories: inquiry question, hypothesis, management of control variables, accurate measurement, presenting results, reliability of results, discussion and conclusion. The mimicked scholarly review prompted a collective practice. Student understanding was significantly well on presenting results, discussion and conclusion, and significantly less on inquiry question and reliability of results. An enacted design, based on a model of a human activity system, created student understanding of quality in inquiries as well as an insight in a peer-reviewing practice. To what extent this model can be applied in a broader context of design research in science education needs further study.

  1. Symmetry Breaking in MILP Formulations for Unit Commitment Problems

    KAUST Repository

    Lima, Ricardo

    2015-12-11

    This paper addresses the study of symmetry in Unit Commitment (UC) problems solved by Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulations, and using Linear Programming based Branch & Bound MILP solvers. We propose three sets of symmetry breaking constraints for UC MILP formulations exhibiting symmetry, and its impact on three UC MILP models are studied. The case studies involve the solution of 24 instances by three widely used models in the literature, with and without symmetry breaking constraints. The results show that problems that could not be solved to optimality within hours can be solved with a relatively small computational burden if the symmetry breaking constraints are assumed. The proposed symmetry breaking constraints are also compared with the symmetry breaking methods included in two MILP solvers, and the symmetry breaking constraints derived in this work have a distinct advantage over the methods in the MILP solvers.

  2. Symmetry Breaking in MILP Formulations for Unit Commitment Problems

    KAUST Repository

    Lima, Ricardo; Novais, Augusto Q.

    2015-01-01

    This paper addresses the study of symmetry in Unit Commitment (UC) problems solved by Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulations, and using Linear Programming based Branch & Bound MILP solvers. We propose three sets of symmetry breaking constraints for UC MILP formulations exhibiting symmetry, and its impact on three UC MILP models are studied. The case studies involve the solution of 24 instances by three widely used models in the literature, with and without symmetry breaking constraints. The results show that problems that could not be solved to optimality within hours can be solved with a relatively small computational burden if the symmetry breaking constraints are assumed. The proposed symmetry breaking constraints are also compared with the symmetry breaking methods included in two MILP solvers, and the symmetry breaking constraints derived in this work have a distinct advantage over the methods in the MILP solvers.

  3. Multiscale Simulation of Breaking Wave Impacts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindberg, Ole

    compare reasonably well. The incompressible and inviscid ALE-WLS model is coupled with the potential flow model of Engsig-Karup et al. [2009], to perform multiscale calculation of breaking wave impacts on a vertical breakwater. The potential flow model provides accurate calculation of the wave...... with a potential flow model to provide multiscale calculation of forces from breaking wave impacts on structures....

  4. Detection of proliferating cell nuclear antigens and interleukin-2 beta receptor molecules on mitogen- and antigen-stimulated lymphocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesketh, J; Dobbelaere, D; Griffin, J F; Buchan, G

    1993-01-01

    The expression of interleukin-2 receptors (IL-2R) and proliferating cell nuclear antigens (PCNA) were compared for their usefulness as markers of lymphocyte activation. Heterologous polyclonal (anti-bovine IL-2R) and monoclonal (anti-human PCNA) antibodies were used to detect the expression of these molecules on activated deer lymphocytes. Both molecules were co-expressed on blast cells which had been activated with mitogen [concanavalin A (Con A)]. There was detectable up-regulation of IL-2R expression in response to antigen [Mycobacterium bovis-derived purified protein derivative (PPD)] stimulation while PCNA expression mimicked lymphocyte transformation (LT) reactivity. PCNA expression was found to more accurately reflect both antigen- and mitogen-activated lymphocyte activation, as estimated by LT activity. The expression of PCNA was used to identify antigen reactive cells from animals exposed to M. bovis. A very low percentage (1.1 +/- 0.4%) of peripheral blood lymphocytes from non-infected animals could be stimulated to express PCNA by in vitro culture with antigen (PPD). Within the infected group both diseased and healthy, 'in-contact', animals expressed significantly higher levels of PCNA upon antigen stimulation. PMID:8104884

  5. A synopsis of experimental activities on small-break LOCA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hein, D.

    1984-01-01

    Through reactor safety studies like WASH 1400 or the ''Deutsche Risiko-Studie'' the attention has turned from large break loss of coolant accidents to small breaks because of the high contribution of this type of accidents to core meltdown. But only after the TMI-2 accident were also the main activities in the experimental fields shifted world-wide to the small break LOCAs. Since TMI numerous research programs have either been finished or are underway. This review paper presents: a classification of the various types of transients according to break size; a discussion of major physical phenomena associated with a small break LOCA, and a description of a few selected research programs and the most important results achieved. (author)

  6. Detecting high-density ultracold molecules using atom–molecule collision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Jun-Ren; Kao, Cheng-Yang; Chen, Hung-Bin; Liu, Yi-Wei

    2013-01-01

    Utilizing single-photon photoassociation, we have achieved ultracold rubidium molecules with a high number density that provides a new efficient approach toward molecular quantum degeneracy. A new detection mechanism for ultracold molecules utilizing inelastic atom–molecule collision is demonstrated. The resonant coupling effect on the formation of the X 1 Σ + g ground state 85 Rb 2 allows for a sufficient number of more deeply bound ultracold molecules, which induced an additional trap loss and heating of the co-existing atoms owing to the inelastic atom–molecule collision. Therefore, after the photoassociation process, the ultracold molecules can be investigated using the absorption image of the ultracold rubidium atoms mixed with the molecules in a crossed optical dipole trap. The existence of the ultracold molecules was then verified, and the amount of accumulated molecules was measured. This method detects the final produced ultracold molecules, and hence is distinct from the conventional trap loss experiment, which is used to study the association resonance. It is composed of measurements of the time evolution of an atomic cloud and a decay model, by which the number density of the ultracold 85 Rb 2 molecules in the optical trap was estimated to be >5.2 × 10 11 cm −3 . (paper)

  7. BOOK REVIEW: Symmetry Breaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryder, L. H.

    2005-11-01

    One of the most fruitful and enduring advances in theoretical physics during the last half century has been the development of the role played by symmetries. One needs only to consider SU(3) and the classification of elementary particles, the Yang Mills enlargement of Maxwell's electrodynamics to the symmetry group SU(2), and indeed the tremendous activity surrounding the discovery of parity violation in the weak interactions in the late 1950s. This last example is one of a broken symmetry, though the symmetry in question is a discrete one. It was clear to Gell-Mann, who first clarified the role of SU(3) in particle physics, that this symmetry was not exact. If it had been, it would have been much easier to discover; for example, the proton, neutron, Σ, Λ and Ξ particles would all have had the same mass. For many years the SU(3) symmetry breaking was assigned a mathematical form, but the importance of this formulation fell away when the quark model began to be taken seriously; the reason the SU(3) symmetry was not exact was simply that the (three, in those days) quarks had different masses. At the same time, and in a different context, symmetry breaking of a different type was being investigated. This went by the name of `spontaneous symmetry breaking' and its characteristic was that the ground state of a given system was not invariant under the symmetry transformation, though the interactions (the Hamiltonian, in effect) was. A classic example is ferromagnetism. In a ferromagnet the atomic spins are aligned in one direction only—this is the ground state of the system. It is clearly not invariant under a rotation, for that would change the ground state into a (similar but) different one, with the spins aligned in a different direction; this is the phenomenon of a degenerate vacuum. The contribution of the spin interaction, s1.s2, to the Hamiltonian, however, is actually invariant under rotations. As Coleman remarked, a little man living in a ferromagnet would

  8. Case report: Pulmonary syphilis mimicking pulmonary hematogenous metastases on chest CT and integrated PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyung Jun; Seon, Hyun Ju; Shin, Hyo Hyun; Choi, Yoo-Duk

    2011-01-01

    We report a case of syphilis with pulmonary involvement. Chest CT scan and 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT showed multiple pulmonary nodules mimicking pulmonary hematogenous metastases. This was confirmed on follow-up images that showed therapeutic response to penicillin

  9. Unusual Case of Overt Aortic Dissection Mimicking Aortic Intramural Hematoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kushtrim Disha

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available We report an interesting case in which overt aortic dissection mimicked two episodes of aortic intramural hematoma (IMH (Stanford A, DeBakey I. This took place over the course of four days and had a major influence on the surgical treatment strategy. The first episode of IMH regressed completely within 15 hours after it was clinically diagnosed and verified using imaging techniques. The recurrence of IMH was detected three days thereafter, resulting in an urgent surgical intervention. Overt aortic dissection with evidence of an intimal tear was diagnosed intraoperatively.

  10. Subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis due to Pyrenochaeta romeroi mimicking a synovial cyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurelien Dinh

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Opportunistic subcutaneous fungal infections are increasing nowadays due to the growing number of medical conditions causing immunosuppression, especially organ transplant. The incidence rate of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis is very low. Most studies found are case reports. They showed a wide variation of clinical presentations. Pyrenochaeta romeroi, a fungus from the Dematiaceae group is a saprophyte found in soil and plants and a possible causative agent of phaeohyphomycosis. We present a rare case of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis caused by P. romeroi mimicking a synovial cyst in a diabetic patient.

  11. Primary bone lymphoma of the distal tibia mimicking brodie's abscess

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jina; Lee, Seung Hun; Joo, Kyung Bin; Park, Chan Kum

    2014-01-01

    The 'penumbra sign' on an unenhanced T1-weighted image is a well-known characteristic of Brodie's abscess, and this sign is extremely helpful for discriminating subacute osteomyelitis from other bone lesions. We present a case of primary bone lymphoma of the distal tibia mimicking subacute osteomyelitis with Brodie's abscess in a 50-year-old woman. Initial radiographs and MRI showed a lesion in the distal tibia consistent with Brodie's abscess with the penumbra sign. Histopathological examination of the surgical biopsy specimen confirmed the presence of a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma involving the bone.

  12. A rare case of unilateral discoid lupus erythematosus mimicking lupus vulgaris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Parul; Pathania, Sucheta; Kubba, Asha

    2017-11-08

    Discoidlupus erythematosus (DLE) is a chronic type of cutaneous lupus erythematosus which can present in various morphologies, and the diagnosis can be rather confounding. Prompt evaluation and treatment is necessary to prevent disfigurement and systemic involvement associated with DLE. The following case presented a diagnostic dilemma as the lesion mimicked lupus vulgaris. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  13. A Unique Case of Muscle Invasive Metastatic Breast Cancer Mimicking Myositis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-06-28

    TYPE 08/ 03/20 17 Publ ication/Journal 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE A unique case of muscle-invasive metastatic breast cancer mimicking myositis 6...Rev. 8/98) Prescnbed by ANSI Std Z39. 18 Adobe Profes11on11 7.0 Title: A Unique Case of M uscle-Invasive Metastatic Breast Cancer M imicking...an 84-year-old female who presented with neck swelling and upper airway obstruction due to metastatic breast cancer invading the sternocleidomastoid

  14. Distribution of binding energies of a water molecule in the water liquid-vapor interface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chempath, Shaji [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Pratt, Lawrence R [TULANE UNIV

    2008-01-01

    Distributions of binding energies of a water molecule in the water liquid-vapor interface are obtained on the basis of molecular simulation with the SPC/E model of water. These binding energies together with the observed interfacial density profile are used to test a minimally conditioned Gaussian quasi-chemical statistical thermodynamic theory. Binding energy distributions for water molecules in that interfacial region clearly exhibit a composite structure. A minimally conditioned Gaussian quasi-chemical model that is accurate for the free energy of bulk liquid water breaks down for water molecules in the liquid-vapor interfacial region. This breakdown is associated with the fact that this minimally conditioned Gaussian model would be inaccurate for the statistical thermodynamics of a dilute gas. Aggressive conditioning greatly improves the performance of that Gaussian quasi-chemical model. The analogy between the Gaussian quasi-chemical model and dielectric models of hydration free energies suggests that naive dielectric models without the conditioning features of quasi-chemical theory will be unreliable for these interfacial problems. Multi-Gaussian models that address the composite nature of the binding energy distributions observed in the interfacial region might provide a mechanism for correcting dielectric models for practical applications.

  15. The scale of supersymmetry breaking as a free parameter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polonsky, N.

    2001-01-01

    While supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model can be fully described in terms of explicitly broken global supersymmetry, this description is only effective. Once related to spontaneous breaking in a more fundamental theory, the effective parameters translate to functions of two distinct scales, the scale of spontaneous supersymmetry breaking and the scale of its mediation to the standard-model fields. The scale dependence will be written explicitly and the full spectrum of supersymmetry breaking operators which emerges will be explored. It will be shown that, contrary to common lore, scale-dependent operators can play an important role in determining the phenomenology. For example, theories with low-energy supersymmetry breaking, such as gauge mediation, may correspond to a scalar potential which is quite different than in theories with high-energy supersymmetry breaking, such as gravity mediation. As a concrete example, the Higgs mass prediction will be discussed in some detail and its upper bound will be shown to be sensitive to the supersymmetry breaking scale

  16. The spontaneous ℤ_2 breaking Twin Higgs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beauchesne, Hugues; Earl, Kevin; Grégoire, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    The Twin Higgs model seeks to address the little hierarchy problem by making the Higgs a pseudo-Goldstone of a global SU(4) symmetry that is spontaneously broken to SU(3). Gauge and Yukawa couplings, which explicitly break SU(4), enjoy a discrete ℤ_2 symmetry that accidentally maintains SU(4) at the quadratic level and therefore keeps the Higgs light. Contrary to most beyond the Standard Model theories, the quadratically divergent corrections to the Higgs mass are cancelled by a mirror sector, which is uncharged under the Standard Model groups. However, the Twin Higgs with an exact ℤ_2 symmetry leads to equal vevs in the Standard Model and mirror sectors, which is phenomenologically unviable. An explicit ℤ_2 breaking potential must then be introduced and tuned against the SU(4) breaking terms to produce a hierarchy of vevs between the two sectors. This leads to a moderate but non-negligible tuning. We propose a model to alleviate this tuning, without the need for an explicit ℤ_2 breaking sector. The model consists of two SU(4) fundamental Higgses, one whose vacuum preserves ℤ_2 and one whose vacuum breaks it. As the interactions between the two Higgses are turned on, the ℤ_2 breaking is transmitted from the broken to the unbroken sector and a small hierarchy of vevs is naturally produced. The presence of an effective tadpole and feedback between the two Higgses lead to a sizable improvement of the tuning. The resulting Higgs boson is naturally very Standard Model like.

  17. The effect of spatial confinement on the noble-gas HArF molecule: structure and electric properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozłowska, Justyna; Bartkowiak, Wojciech

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The structure and electrical properties of HArF in spatial confinement are analyzed. • Orbital compression leads to decrease of bond lengths in the HArF molecule. • Spatial restriction causes a drop of the molecular (hyper)polarizabilities. • Spatial confinement reduces the electron correlation contribution to μ, α and β. - Abstract: A systematic study on the dipole moment and (hyper)polarizabilities of argon fluorohydride under spatial restriction was performed. Detailed analysis of the confinement induced changes in the structure of HArF is also presented. In order to render the influence of chemical compression on the properties in question a two-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential, mimicking a cylindrical confinement, was applied. Through the comparison of the results obtained for HArF with those of HF the effect of Ar insertion on the above properties was discussed. A hierarchy of ab initio methods including HF, MP2, CCSD and CCSD(T), has been employed to investigate the effect of orbital compression on the electron correlation contribution to the studied electric properties. It was observed that the external confining potential modifies the electronic contributions to the dipole moment and (hyper)polarizabilities of HArF. In particular, the first hyperpolarizability of HArF is remarkably smaller than that of the unconfined HArF molecule

  18. The effect of spatial confinement on the noble-gas HArF molecule: structure and electric properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kozłowska, Justyna; Bartkowiak, Wojciech, E-mail: wojciech.bartkowiak@pwr.edu.pl

    2014-09-30

    Highlights: • The structure and electrical properties of HArF in spatial confinement are analyzed. • Orbital compression leads to decrease of bond lengths in the HArF molecule. • Spatial restriction causes a drop of the molecular (hyper)polarizabilities. • Spatial confinement reduces the electron correlation contribution to μ, α and β. - Abstract: A systematic study on the dipole moment and (hyper)polarizabilities of argon fluorohydride under spatial restriction was performed. Detailed analysis of the confinement induced changes in the structure of HArF is also presented. In order to render the influence of chemical compression on the properties in question a two-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential, mimicking a cylindrical confinement, was applied. Through the comparison of the results obtained for HArF with those of HF the effect of Ar insertion on the above properties was discussed. A hierarchy of ab initio methods including HF, MP2, CCSD and CCSD(T), has been employed to investigate the effect of orbital compression on the electron correlation contribution to the studied electric properties. It was observed that the external confining potential modifies the electronic contributions to the dipole moment and (hyper)polarizabilities of HArF. In particular, the first hyperpolarizability of HArF is remarkably smaller than that of the unconfined HArF molecule.

  19. Breaking the silence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Konradsen, Hanne; Kirkevold, Marit; McCallin, Antoinette

    2012-01-01

    and individual interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory method. The findings revealed that the main concern of the patients was feeling isolated, which was resolved using a process of interactional integration. Interactional integration begins by breaking the silence to enable the progression from...

  20. Breaking antidunes: Cyclic behavior due to hysteresis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deigaard, Rolf

    2006-01-01

    The cyclic behavior of breaking antidunes (growth, breaking of surface wave, obliteration) is investigated by use of a numerical model. The model includes the transition between supercritical and transcritical flow. As the antidune grows the flow becomes transcritical and a hydraulic jump is form...

  1. Direct measurement and modulation of single-molecule coordinative bonding forces in a transition metal complex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hao, Xian; Zhu, Nan; Gschneidtner, Tina

    2013-01-01

    remain a daunting challenge. Here we demonstrate an interdisciplinary and systematic approach that enables measurement and modulation of the coordinative bonding forces in a transition metal complex. Terpyridine is derived with a thiol linker, facilitating covalent attachment of this ligand on both gold...... substrate surfaces and gold-coated atomic force microscopy tips. The coordination and bond breaking between terpyridine and osmium are followed in situ by electrochemically controlled atomic force microscopy at the single-molecule level. The redox state of the central metal atom is found to have...

  2. Group theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghaboussi, F.

    1987-01-01

    The connection between the minimality of the Higgs field potential and the maximal little groups of its representation obtained by spontaneous symmetry breaking is analyzed. It is shown that for several representations the lowest minimum of the potential is related to the maximal little group of those representations. Furthermore, a practical necessity criterion is given for the representation of the Higgs field needed for spontaneous symmetry breaking

  3. Oropharyngeal trauma mimicking a first branchial cleft anomaly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larem, Aisha; Sheikh, Rashid; Al Qahtani, Abdulsalam; Khais, Frat; Ganesan, Shanmugam; Haidar, Hassan

    2016-06-01

    We present a unique and challenging case of a remnant foreign body that presented to us in a child disguised as a strongly suspected congenital branchial cleft anomaly. This case entailed oropharyngeal trauma, with a delayed presentation as a retroauricular cyst accompanied by otorrhea that mimicked the classic presentation of an infected first branchial cleft anomaly. During surgical excision of the presumed branchial anomaly, a large wooden stick was found in the tract. The diagnostic and therapeutic obstacles in the management of such cases are highlighted. In addition to exploring the existing literature, we retrospectively analyzed a plausible explanation of the findings of this case. Laryngoscope, 126:E224-E226, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  4. Nephropathic Cystinosis Mimicking Bartter Syndrome: a Novel Mutation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastug, Funda; Nalcacioglu, Hulya; Ozaltin, Fatih; Korkmaz, Emine; Yel, Sibel

    2018-01-01

    Cystinosis is a rare autosomal recessive disorder resulting from defective lysosomal transport of cystine due to mutations in the cystinosin lysosomal cystine transporter (CTNS) gene. The clinical phenotype of nephropathic cystinosis is characterized by renal tubular Fanconi syndrome and development of end-stage renal disease during the first decade. Although metabolic acidosis is the classically prominent finding of the disease, a few cases may present with hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis mimicking Bartter syndrome. Bartter-like presentation may lead to delay in diagnosis and initiation of specific treatment for cystinosis. We report a case of a 6-year-old girl initially presenting with the features of Bartter syndrome that was diagnosed 2 years later with nephropathic cystinosis and a novel CTNS mutation.

  5. Moduli/inflaton mixing with supersymmetry breaking field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Endo, M.; Takahashi, F. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)]|[Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Inst. for Cosmic Ray Research; Hamaguchi, K. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)]|[Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Physics

    2006-05-15

    A heavy scalar field such as moduli or an inflaton generally mixes with a field responsible for the supersymmetry breaking. We study the scalar decay into the standard model particles and their superpartners, gravitinos, and the supersymmetry breaking sector, particularly paying attention to decay modes that proceed via the mixing between the scalar and the supersymmetry breaking field. The impacts of the new decay processes on cosmological scenarios are also discussed; the modulus field generically produces too much gravitinos, and most of the inflation models tend to result in too high reheating temperature and/or gravitino overproduction. (Orig.)

  6. Spontaneous symmetry breaking and its cosmological consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobzarev, I.Yu.

    1975-01-01

    The concept of symmetry and of the spontaneous symmetry breaking are presented in popular form as applied to quantum physics. Though the presence of the spontaneous symmetry breaking is not proved directly for interactions of elementary particles, on considering the hypothesis of its presence as applied to the hot Universe theory a possibility of obtaining rather uncommon cosmological consequences is discussed. In particular, spontaneous symmetry breaking of vacuum and the rather hot Universe lead necessarily to the presence of the domain structure of the Universe with the surfase energy at the domain interface in the form of a real physical object

  7. Modelling oil price volatility with structural breaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salisu, Afees A.; Fasanya, Ismail O.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we provide two main innovations: (i) we analyze oil prices of two prominent markets namely West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent using the two recently developed tests by Narayan and Popp (2010) and Liu and Narayan, 2010 both of which allow for two structural breaks in the data series; and (ii) the latter method is modified to include both symmetric and asymmetric volatility models. We identify two structural breaks that occur in 1990 and 2008 which coincidentally correspond to the Iraqi/Kuwait conflict and the global financial crisis, respectively. We find evidence of persistence and leverage effects in the oil price volatility. While further extensions can be pursued, the consideration of asymmetric effects as well as structural breaks should not be jettisoned when modelling oil price volatility. - Highlights: ► We analyze oil price volatility using NP (2010) and LN (2010) tests. ► We modify the LN (2010) to account for leverage effects in oil price. ► We find two structural breaks that reflect major global crisis in the oil market. ► We find evidence of persistence and leverage effects in oil price volatility. ► Leverage effects and structural breaks are fundamental in oil price modelling.

  8. DNA strand breaks, repair, and survival in x-irradiated mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dugle, D.L.; Gillespie, C.J.; Chapman, J.D.

    1976-01-01

    The yields of unrepairable single- and double-strand breaks in the DNA of x-irradiated Chinese hamster cells were measured by low-speed neutral and alkaline sucrose density gradient sedimentation in order to investigate the relation between these lesions and reproductive death. After maximal single-strand rejoining, at all doses, the number of residual single-strand breaks was twice the number of residual double-strand breaks. Both double-strand and unrepairable single-strand breaks were proportional to the square of absorbed dose, in the range 10-50 krad. No rejoining of double-strand breaks was observed. These observations suggest that, in mammalian cells, most double-strand breaks are not repairable, while all single-strand breaks are repaired except those that are sufficiently close on complementary strands to constitute double-strand breaks. Comparison with cell survival measurements at much lower doses suggests that loss of reproductive capacity corresponds to induction of approximately one double-strand break

  9. Mimicking the effect of gravity using an elastic membrane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yecun; Zhu, Changqing; Wang, Yijun; Shi, Qingfan

    2014-01-01

    Comparing astrospace with an elastic membrane is an interesting analogy but it lacks a theoretical basis and experimental support. We develop a theoretical model that brings to light the relationship between the conceptual model of a gravity well and an elastic deformation equation of a membrane supporting a heavy ball, and further derive the ‘gravitational constant’ for such a small ‘elastic space’. The experimental data obtained are consistent with the prediction of our model, in mimicking the revolution of a small planet. Teaching practice shows that using an elastic membrane is a simple, intuitive and reliable method to enhance the quality of learning about the effect of gravity. (paper)

  10. Case report: Pulmonary syphilis mimicking pulmonary hematogenous metastases on chest CT and integrated PET/CT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyung Jun Kim

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We report a case of syphilis with pulmonary involvement. Chest CT scan and 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG PET/CT showed multiple pulmonary nodules mimicking pulmonary hematogenous metastases. This was confirmed on follow-up images that showed therapeutic response to penicillin.

  11. Breaking Gaussian incompatibility on continuous variable quantum systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heinosaari, Teiko, E-mail: teiko.heinosaari@utu.fi [Turku Centre for Quantum Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Kiukas, Jukka, E-mail: jukka.kiukas@aber.ac.uk [Department of Mathematics, Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth, SY23 3BZ (United Kingdom); Schultz, Jussi, E-mail: jussi.schultz@gmail.com [Turku Centre for Quantum Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku (Finland); Dipartimento di Matematica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy)

    2015-08-15

    We characterise Gaussian quantum channels that are Gaussian incompatibility breaking, that is, transform every set of Gaussian measurements into a set obtainable from a joint Gaussian observable via Gaussian postprocessing. Such channels represent local noise which renders measurements useless for Gaussian EPR-steering, providing the appropriate generalisation of entanglement breaking channels for this scenario. Understanding the structure of Gaussian incompatibility breaking channels contributes to the resource theory of noisy continuous variable quantum information protocols.

  12. Report of Break Out Group 1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alward, Randy; Carley, Kathleen M.; Madsen, Fredrik Huitfeldt

    2006-01-01

    , action" (OODA) loop. The break out group discussed vulnerability presentation needs common across various application domains, particularly in support of network discovery and network analysis tasks in those domains. Finally, the break out group wished to determine whether there is a means...... of characterizing a vulnerability. This would take into account the potential for the vulnerability to be exploited as well as the potential impact on the operations supported by the network, and on the network structure itself, of a successful exploit of that vulnerability.......To help understand a network and its ability to continue operating when under attack, the break out group discussed issues that need to be considered when presenting network vulnerability information to an analyst, manager or commander in effective support of that person's "observe, orient, decide...

  13. Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis associated with massive free air mimicking perforated diffuse peritonitis

    OpenAIRE

    Sakurai, Yoichi; Hikichi, Masahiro; Isogaki, Jun; Furuta, Shinpei; Sunagawa, Risaburo; Inaba, Kazuki; Komori, Yoshiyuki; Uyama, Ichiro

    2008-01-01

    While pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PCI) is a rare disease entity associated with a wide variety of gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal disorders, PCI associated with massive intra- and retroperitoneal free air is extremely uncommon, and is difficult to diagnose differentially from perforated peritonitis. We present two cases of PCI associated with massive peritoneal free air and/or retroperitoneal air that mimicked perforated peritonitis. These cases highlight the clinical import...

  14. Strongly coupled semidirect mediation of supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibe, M.; Izawa, K.-I.; Nakai, Y.

    2009-01-01

    Strongly coupled semidirect gauge mediation models of supersymmetry breaking through massive mediators with standard-model charges are investigated by means of composite degrees of freedom. Sizable mediation is realized to generate the standard-model gaugino masses for a small mediator mass without breaking the standard-model symmetries.

  15. Metastable Supersymmetry Breaking in a Cooling Universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplunovsky, Vadim S.

    2007-01-01

    I put metastable supersymmetry breaking in a cosmological context. I argue that under reasonable assumptions, the cooling down early Universe favors metastable SUSY-breaking vacua over the stable supersymmetric vacua. To illustrate the general argument, I analyze the early-Universe history of the Intriligator-Seiberg-Shih model

  16. New mechanisms of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Randall, L.

    1997-01-01

    New mechanisms for the communication of supersymmetry breaking via gauge interactions are introduced. These models do not require complicated dynamics to induce a non-vanishing F term for a singlet. The first class of models communicates supersymmetry breaking to the visible sector through a ''mediator'' field that transforms under both a messenger gauge group of the dynamical supersymmetry breaking sector and the standard model gauge group. This model has a distinctive phenomenology; in particular, the scalar superpartners should be heavier than the gaugino superpartners by at least an order of magnitude. The second class of models has a phenomenology more similar to the ''standard'' messenger sectors. A singlet is incorporated, but the model does not require complicated mechanisms to generate a singlet F term. The role of the singlet is to couple fields from the dynamical symmetry breaking sector to fields transforming under the standard model gauge group. We also mention a potential solution to the μ problem. (orig.)

  17. Effects of the molecule-electrode interface on the low-bias conductance of Cu-H2-Cu single-molecule junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Zhuoling; Wang, Hao; Shen, Ziyong; Sanvito, Stefano; Hou, Shimin

    2016-07-28

    The atomic structure and electronic transport properties of a single hydrogen molecule connected to both symmetric and asymmetric Cu electrodes are investigated by using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism combined with the density functional theory. Our calculations show that in symmetric Cu-H2-Cu junctions, the low-bias conductance drops rapidly upon stretching, while asymmetric ones present a low-bias conductance spanning the 0.2-0.3 G0 interval for a wide range of electrode separations. This is in good agreement with experiments on Cu atomic contacts in a hydrogen environment. Furthermore, the distribution of the calculated vibrational energies of the two hydrogen atoms in the asymmetric Cu-H2-Cu junction is also consistent with experiments. These findings provide clear evidence for the formation of asymmetric Cu-H2-Cu molecular junctions in breaking Cu atomic contacts in the presence of hydrogen and are also helpful for the design of molecular devices with Cu electrodes.

  18. Unstable volatility functions: the break preserving local linear estimator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Casas, Isabel; Gijbels, Irene

    The objective of this paper is to introduce the break preserving local linear (BPLL) estimator for the estimation of unstable volatility functions. Breaks in the structure of the conditional mean and/or the volatility functions are common in Finance. Markov switching models (Hamilton, 1989......) and threshold models (Lin and Terasvirta, 1994) are amongst the most popular models to describe the behaviour of data with structural breaks. The local linear (LL) estimator is not consistent at points where the volatility function has a break and it may even report negative values for finite samples...

  19. Carbon ion induced DNA double-strand breaks in melanophore B{sub 16}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zengquan, Wei; Guangming, Zhou; Jufang, Wang; Jing, He; Qiang, Li; Wenjian, Li; Hongmei, Xie; Xichen, Cai; Huang, Tao; Bingrong, Dang; Guangwu, Han [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou (China). Inst. of Modern Physics; Qingxiang, Gao [Lanzhou Univ. (China)

    1997-09-01

    DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in melanophore B{sub 16} induced by plateau and extended Bragg peak of 75 MeV/u {sup 12}C{sup 6+} ions were studied by using a technique of inverse pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PIGE). DNA fragment lengths were distributed in two ranges: the larger in 1.4 Mbp-3.2 Mbp and the smaller in less than 1.2 Mbp. It indicates that distribution of DNA fragments induced by heavy ion irradiation is not stochastic and there probably are sensitive sites to heavy ions in DNA molecules of B{sub 16}. Percentage of DNA released from plug (PR) increased and trended towards a quasi-plateau {proportional_to}85% as dose increased. Content of the larger fragments decreased and flattened with increasing dose while content of the smaller ones increased and trended towards saturation. (orig.)

  20. Tumor-mimicking primary angiitis of the central nervous system: initial and follow-up MR features

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Youkyung; Kim, Ji-hoon; Kim, Eunhee; Yim, Yoo Jeong; Sohn, Chul-Ho [Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul (Korea); Park, Sung-Hye [Seoul National University, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Chang, Kee-Hyun [Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul (Korea); Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Neuroscience Research Institute, Seoul (Korea)

    2009-10-15

    Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is an extremely rare vasculitis of unknown etiology. The purpose of this study was to describe the initial and follow-up magnetic resonance (MR) imaging features of the tumor-mimicking PACNS. We retrospectively reviewed a total of 21 initial and follow-up brain MR images obtained in four patients with biopsy-proven PACNS mimicking brain tumor on MR images during the periods from 1 to 8.1 years. In the initial study, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI; n=4), MR angiogram (n=4), conventional catheter angiogram (n=3), perfusion MR (n=1), and computed tomography (n=1) and proton MR spectroscopy (MRS; n=2) were included. The lesions of the brain were qualitatively assessed in terms of location, number, size, shape, signal intensity, absence or presence of hemorrhage, enhancement pattern, and changes on the follow-up studies. Initially, the lesion manifested as single suprasellar (n=1) and frontal hemispheric (n=1) mass and as multiple-enhancing lesions in the unilateral supratentorial hemisphere (n=2). A patient showed steno-occlusive lesions in the internal carotid and middle cerebral arteries. DWI, perfusion imaging, and MRS revealed inconsistent findings among the patients. On the follow-up studies, a patient had two relapses but there was either significant decrease in size and extent or disappearance of the lesions with immunosuppressive therapy in all patients. Tumor-mimicking PACNS shows variable features on initial MR images but shows good responses to appropriate immunosuppressive therapy on follow-up MR images. (orig.)

  1. Tumor-mimicking primary angiitis of the central nervous system: initial and follow-up MR features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Youkyung; Kim, Ji-hoon; Kim, Eunhee; Yim, Yoo Jeong; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Park, Sung-Hye; Chang, Kee-Hyun

    2009-01-01

    Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is an extremely rare vasculitis of unknown etiology. The purpose of this study was to describe the initial and follow-up magnetic resonance (MR) imaging features of the tumor-mimicking PACNS. We retrospectively reviewed a total of 21 initial and follow-up brain MR images obtained in four patients with biopsy-proven PACNS mimicking brain tumor on MR images during the periods from 1 to 8.1 years. In the initial study, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI; n=4), MR angiogram (n=4), conventional catheter angiogram (n=3), perfusion MR (n=1), and computed tomography (n=1) and proton MR spectroscopy (MRS; n=2) were included. The lesions of the brain were qualitatively assessed in terms of location, number, size, shape, signal intensity, absence or presence of hemorrhage, enhancement pattern, and changes on the follow-up studies. Initially, the lesion manifested as single suprasellar (n=1) and frontal hemispheric (n=1) mass and as multiple-enhancing lesions in the unilateral supratentorial hemisphere (n=2). A patient showed steno-occlusive lesions in the internal carotid and middle cerebral arteries. DWI, perfusion imaging, and MRS revealed inconsistent findings among the patients. On the follow-up studies, a patient had two relapses but there was either significant decrease in size and extent or disappearance of the lesions with immunosuppressive therapy in all patients. Tumor-mimicking PACNS shows variable features on initial MR images but shows good responses to appropriate immunosuppressive therapy on follow-up MR images. (orig.)

  2. An isomerization-induced cage-breaking process in a molecular glass former below Tg

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teboul, V.; Saiddine, M.; Accary, J.-B.; Nunzi, J.-M.

    2011-01-01

    A recent experimental [P. Karageorgiev, D. Neher, B. Schulz, B. Stiller, U. Pietsch, M. Giersig, L. Brehmer, Nature Mater. 4, 699 (2005)] study has found liquidlike diffusion below the glass-transition temperature in azobenzene-containing materials under irradiation. This result suggests that the isomerization-induced massive mass transport that leads to surface relief gratings formation in these materials, is induced by this huge increase of the matrix diffusion coefficient around the probe. In order to investigate the microscopic origin of the increase of the diffusion, we use molecular dynamics simulations of the photoisomerization of probe dispersed red 1 molecules dispersed inside a glassy molecular matrix. Results show that the increased diffusion is due to an isomerization-induced cage-breaking process. A process that explains the induced cooperative motions recently observed in these photoactive materials.

  3. Synthetic RNAs Mimicking Structural Domains in the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Genome Elicit a Broad Innate Immune Response in Porcine Cells Triggered by RIG-I and TLR Activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borrego, Belén; Rodríguez-Pulido, Miguel; Revilla, Concepción; Álvarez, Belén; Sobrino, Francisco; Domínguez, Javier; Sáiz, Margarita

    2015-07-17

    The innate immune system is the first line of defense against viral infections. Exploiting innate responses for antiviral, therapeutic and vaccine adjuvation strategies is being extensively explored. We have previously described, the ability of small in vitro RNA transcripts, mimicking the sequence and structure of different domains in the non-coding regions of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) genome (ncRNAs), to trigger a potent and rapid innate immune response. These synthetic non-infectious molecules have proved to have a broad-range antiviral activity and to enhance the immunogenicity of an FMD inactivated vaccine in mice. Here, we have studied the involvement of pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) in the ncRNA-induced innate response and analyzed the antiviral and cytokine profiles elicited in swine cultured cells, as well as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).

  4. ROSA-III 100 % break integral test Run 914

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yonomoto, Taisuke; Tasaka, Kanji; Koizumi, Yasuo; Anoda, Yoshinari; Kumamaru, Hiroshige; Nakamura, Hideo; Suzuki, Mitsuhiro; Murata, Hideo

    1987-05-01

    This report presents the experimental data of RUN 914 conducted at the ROSA-III test facility. The facility is a volumetrically scaled (1/424) simulator for a BWR/6 with the electrically heated core, the break simulator and the scaled ECCS (emergency core cooling system). RUN 914 was a 100% split break test at the recirculation pump suction line with an assumption of HPCS diesel generator failure and conducted as one of the break area parameter tests. A peak cladding temperature (PCT) of 851 K was reached at 130 s after the break during the reflooding phase. Whole core was completely quenched by ECCS, and the effectiveness of ECCS was confirmed. The primary test results of RUN 914 are compared in this report with those of RUN 926, which was a 200 % double-ended break test. The initiation of core dryout in RUN 914 was almost the same as that in RUN 926. Duration of core dryourt was, however, longer in RUN 914 because of later actuation of ECCSs. PCT in RUN 914 was 67 K higher than that in RUN 926. (author)

  5. Evidence for SU(3) symmetry breaking from hyperon production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Jianjun

    2002-01-01

    We examine the SU(3) symmetry breaking in hyperon semileptonic decays (HSD) by considering two typical sets of quark contributions to the spin content of the octet baryons: set 1 with SU(3) flavor symmetry and set 2 with SU(3) flavor symmetry breaking in the HSD. The quark distributions of the octet baryons are calculated with a successful statistical model. Using an approximate relation between the quark fragmentation functions and the quark distributions, we predict the polarizations of the octet baryons produced in e + e - annihilation and semi-inclusive deep lepton-nucleon scattering in order to reveal the SU(3) symmetry breaking effect on the spin structure of the octet baryons. We find that the SU(3) symmetry breaking significantly affects the hyperon polarization. The available experimental data on the Λ polarization seem to favor the theoretical predictions with SU(3) symmetry breaking. We conclude that there is a possibility to get collateral evidence for SU(3) symmetry breaking from hyperon production. The theoretical errors for our predictions are discussed

  6. New models of gauge- and gravity-mediated supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poppitz, E.; Trivedi, S.P.

    1997-01-01

    We show that supersymmetry breaking in a class of theories with SU(N)xSU(N-2) gauge symmetry can be studied in a calculable σ model. We use the σ model to show that the supersymmetry-breaking vacuum in these theories leaves a large subgroup of flavor symmetries intact, and to calculate the masses of the low-lying states. By embedding the standard model gauge groups in the unbroken flavor symmetry group we construct a class of models in which supersymmetry breaking is communicated by both gravitational and gauge interactions. One distinguishing feature of these models is that the messenger fields, responsible for the gauge-mediated communication of supersymmetry breaking, are an integral part of the supersymmetry-breaking sector. We also show how, by lowering the scale that suppresses the nonrenormalizable operators, a class of purely gauge-mediated models with a combined supersymmetry-breaking-cum-messenger sector can be built. We briefly discuss the phenomenological features of the models we construct. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  7. [Primary central nervous system lymphoma mimicking ventriculitis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Shiro; Nagano, Seiji; Shibata, Sumiya; Kunieda, Takeharu; Imai, Yukihiro; Kohara, Nobuo

    2013-01-01

    A 66-year-old man presented with deteriorated bradykinesia, gait disturbance, disorientation, and urinary incontinence for three weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed dilatation of the ventricles. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination demonstrated lymphocytic pleocytosis, elevation of protein levels, and decreased of glucose levels. A gadolinium-enhanced MRI revealed lesions in the ventricular wall and choroid plexus, mimicking ventriculitis. No evidence of bacterial, fungal, mycobacterial, or viral infections were observed in the CSF. Flow cytometry of CSF showed predominance of CD20+, λ+ cells. PCR examination of CSF revealed positive IgH gene rearrangement, suggesting B cell lymphoma. Endoscopic brain biopsy showed diffuse large B cell lymphoma. As the patient had no evidence of lymphoma in the other organs, we made a diagnosed of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). A limited intraventricular spread of PCNSL is rare but important as one of differential diagnosis of ventriculitis.

  8. 38 CFR 17.100 - Refusal of treatment by unnecessarily breaking appointments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... and satisfactory reasons are advanced for breaking the appointment and circumstances were such that... unnecessarily breaking appointments. 17.100 Section 17.100 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL Breaking Appointments § 17.100 Refusal of treatment by unnecessarily breaking...

  9. Amino acid chirality breaking by N-phosphorylation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Yufen; Yan Qingjin.

    1995-01-01

    The chirality breaking of amino acid is a focus issue in the origin of life. For chemists, there are some interesting chemical approaches to solve the symmetry breaking problem. Our previous experiments indicated that when amino acids were phosphorylated, there were many bio-mimic reactions happened. In this paper, it was found that there had significant difference between the N-phosphoryl L- and D- amino acids such as serine and threonine. The optical rotation tracing experiments of the racemic N-phosphoamino acids also showed the similar results. The chirality breaking of amino acids by N-phosphorylation was a novel phenomena. (author). 3 refs, 1 fig. Abstract only

  10. Microfabricated adhesive mimicking gecko foot-hair

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geim, A. K.; Dubonos, S. V.; Grigorieva, I. V.; Novoselov, K. S.; Zhukov, A. A.; Shapoval, S. Yu.

    2003-07-01

    The amazing climbing ability of geckos has attracted the interest of philosophers and scientists alike for centuries. However, only in the past few years has progress been made in understanding the mechanism behind this ability, which relies on submicrometre keratin hairs covering the soles of geckos. Each hair produces a miniscule force ~10-7 N (due to van der Waals and/or capillary interactions) but millions of hairs acting together create a formidable adhesion of ~10 N cm-2: sufficient to keep geckos firmly on their feet, even when upside down on a glass ceiling. It is very tempting to create a new type of adhesive by mimicking the gecko mechanism. Here we report on a prototype of such 'gecko tape' made by microfabrication of dense arrays of flexible plastic pillars, the geometry of which is optimized to ensure their collective adhesion. Our approach shows a way to manufacture self-cleaning, re-attachable dry adhesives, although problems related to their durability and mass production are yet to be resolved.

  11. Fragmentation in DNA double-strand breaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Zhiyong; Suzhou Univ., Suzhou; Zhang Lihui; Li Ming; Fan Wo; Xu Yujie

    2005-01-01

    DNA double strand breaks are important lesions induced by irradiations. Random breakage model or quantification supported by this concept is suitable to analyze DNA double strand break data induced by low LET radiation, but deviation from random breakage model is more evident in high LET radiation data analysis. In this work we develop a new method, statistical fragmentation model, to analyze the fragmentation process of DNA double strand breaks. After charged particles enter the biological cell, they produce ionizations along their tracks, and transfer their energies to the cells and break the cellular DNA strands into fragments. The probable distribution of the fragments is obtained under the condition in which the entropy is maximum. Under the approximation E≅E 0 + E 1 l + E 2 l 2 , the distribution functions are obtained as exp(αl + βl 2 ). There are two components, the one proportional to exp(βl 2 ), mainly contributes to the low mass fragment yields, the other component, proportional to exp(αl), decreases slowly as the mass of the fragments increases. Numerical solution of the constraint equations provides parameters α and β. Experimental data, especially when the energy deposition is higher, support the statistical fragmentation model. (authors)

  12. Workshop on electroweak symmetry breaking: proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinchliffe, I.

    1984-10-01

    A theoretical workshop on electroweak symmetry breaking at the Superconducting Supercollider was held at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, June 4-22, 1984. The purpose of the workshop was to focus theoretical attention on the ways in which experimentation at the SSC could reveal manifestations of the phenomenon responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking. This issue represents, at present, the most compelling scientific argument for the need to explore the energy region to be made accessible by the SSC, and a major aim of the workshop was to involve a broad cross section of particle theorists in the ongoing process of sharpening the requirements for both accelerator and detector design that will ensure detection and identification of meaningful signals, whatever form the electroweak symmetry breaking phenomenon should actually take. Separate entries were prepared for the data base for the papers presented

  13. Workshop on electroweak symmetry breaking: proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hinchliffe, I. (ed.)

    1984-10-01

    A theoretical workshop on electroweak symmetry breaking at the Superconducting Supercollider was held at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, June 4-22, 1984. The purpose of the workshop was to focus theoretical attention on the ways in which experimentation at the SSC could reveal manifestations of the phenomenon responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking. This issue represents, at present, the most compelling scientific argument for the need to explore the energy region to be made accessible by the SSC, and a major aim of the workshop was to involve a broad cross section of particle theorists in the ongoing process of sharpening the requirements for both accelerator and detector design that will ensure detection and identification of meaningful signals, whatever form the electroweak symmetry breaking phenomenon should actually take. Separate entries were prepared for the data base for the papers presented.

  14. On the ether-like Lorentz-breaking actions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, A.Yu; Nascimento, J.R.; Gomes, M.; Silva, A. J. da

    2011-01-01

    We demonstrate the generation of the CPT-even, ether-like Lorentz-breaking actions for the scalar and electro-magnetic fields via their appropriate Lorentz-breaking coupling to spinor fields in three, four and five space-time dimensions. Besides, we show that the ether-like terms for the spinor field also can be generated as a consequence of the same couplings. The key result which will be presented here is the finiteness of the ether-like term for the electromagnetic field not only in three and five space-time dimensions where it is natural due to known effects of the dimensional regularization but also in four space-time dimensions. Moreover, we present the calculation of the last result within different calculational schemes and conclude that the result for the four-dimensional ether-like term for the electromagnetic field essentially depending on the calculation scheme, similarly to the result for the Carroll-Field-Jackiw (CFJ) term which probably signalizes a possibility for arising of a new anomaly. Also we discuss the dispersion relations in the theories with ether-like Lorentz-breaking terms which allows to discuss the consistency of the Lorentz-breaking modified theories for different (space-like or time-like) Lorentz-breaking vectors and find the tree-level effective (Breit) potential for fermion scattering and the one-loop effective potential corresponding to the action of the scalar field. (author)

  15. Growing interstellar molecules with ion-molecule reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohme, D.K.

    1989-01-01

    Laboratory measurements of gas-phase ion-molecule reactions continue to provide important insights into the chemistry of molecular growth in interstellar environments. It is also true that the measurements are becoming more demanding as larger molecules capture our interest. While some of these measurements are motivated by current developments in chemical models of interstellar environments or by new molecular observations by astronomers, others explore novel chemistry which can lead to predictions of new interstellar molecules. Here the author views the results of some recent measurements, taken in the Ion Chemistry Laboratory at York University with the SIFT technique, which address some of the current needs of modellers and observers and which also provide some new fundamental insight into molecular growth, particularly when it occurs in the presence of large molecules such as PAH molecules which are now thought to have a major influence on the chemistry of interstellar environments in which they are present

  16. Nonstandard Supersymmetry Breaking and Dirac Gaugino Masses without Supersoftness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, Stephen P. [Northern Illinois U.

    2015-08-05

    I consider models in which nonstandard supersymmetry-breaking terms, including Dirac gaugino masses, arise from F-term breaking mediated by operators with a 1/M3 suppression. In these models, the supersoft properties found in the case of D-term breaking are absent in general, but can be obtained as a special case that is a fixed point of the renormalization group equations. The μ term is replaced by three distinct supersymmetry-breaking parameters, decoupling the Higgs scalar potential from the Higgsino masses. Both holomorphic and nonholomorphic scalar cubic interactions with minimal flavor violation are induced in the supersymmetric Standard Model Lagrangian.

  17. Break the "wall" and become creative: Enacting embodied metaphors in virtual reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xinyue; Lu, Kelong; Runco, Mark A; Hao, Ning

    2018-07-01

    This study investigated whether the experience of "breaking the walls", the embodiment of the metaphor "breaking the rules", could enhance creative performance. The virtual reality technology was used to simulate the scenario where participants could "break the walls" while walking in a corridor. Participants were asked to solve the creativity-demanding problems (ie., alternative uses tasks, AUT) in either the "break" condition in which they had to break the walls to move forward in VR, or the "no-break" condition where no barrier walls would appear. Results showed higher AUT originality and AUT fluency in the "break" condition than in the "no-break" condition. Moreover, the effects of "breaking the walls" on AUT originality were fully mediated by cognitive flexibility and persistence. These findings may indicate that enacting metaphors such as "breaking the rules" contribute to creative performance. The enhanced cognitive flexibility and persistence may account for the benefits. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Chiral symmetry breaking and confinement - solutions of relativistic wave equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murugesan, P.

    1983-01-01

    In this thesis, an attempt is made to explore the question whether confinement automatically leads to chiral symmetry breaking. While it should be accepted that chiral symmetry breaking manifests in nature in the absence of scalar partners of pseudoscalar mesons, it does not necessarily follow that confinement should lead to chiral symmetry breaking. If chiral conserving forces give rise to observed spectrum of hadrons, then the conjuncture that confinement is responsible for chiral symmetry breaking is not valid. The method employed to answer the question whether confinement leads to chiral symmetry breaking or not is to solve relativistic wave equations by introducing chiral conserving as well as chiral breaking confining potentials and compare the results with experimental observations. It is concluded that even though chiral symmetry is broken in nature, confinement of quarks need not be the cause of it

  19. Break-even analysis in a nurse-managed center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBryde-Foster, Merry J

    2005-01-01

    The concept of break-even analysis as a financial assessment tool is defined and demonstrated in evaluation of a proposed nurse-managed center. The advantages of using break-even analysis during proposal development are explored.

  20. Sparticle spectrum and constraints in anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huitu, K.; Laamanen, J.; Pandita, P.N.

    2002-01-01

    We study in detail the particle spectrum in anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking models in which supersymmetry breaking terms are induced by the super-Weyl anomaly. We investigate the minimal anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking models, gaugino assisted supersymmetry breaking models, as well as models with additional residual nondecoupling D-term contributions due to an extra U(1) gauge symmetry at a high energy scale. We derive sum rules for the sparticle masses in these models which can help in differentiating between them. We also obtain the sparticle spectrum numerically, and compare and contrast the results so obtained for the different types of anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking models

  1. Testicular teratoma, mimicking a simple testicular cyst, in an infant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Renzo, Dacia; Persico, Antonello; Sindici, Giulia; Lelli Chiesa, Pierluigi

    2013-09-01

    Prepubertal testicular tumors are rare, and teratoma is the second most frequent histologic type. Its typical features are those of a hard and painless scrotal mass at clinical examination, and nonhomogeneous, echoic, often with calcifications at ultrasonography. Rare but reported is the atypical presentation as a transilluminating scrotal mass, due to the presence of some internal cystic areas, detectable at ultrasonography. We report the case of an infant with a transilluminating scrotal mass, mimicking at ultrasonography and surgery a simple, fully liquid cyst, which the pathologic examination revealed to be mature cystic testicular teratoma. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Granulomatous mastitis caused by histoplasma and mimicking inflammatory breast carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osborne, B M

    1989-01-01

    Two cases of a lobular, necrotizing granulomatous process causing a unilateral painful breast mass mimicking carcinoma are presented for comparison. While the morphologic appearance in each case was that of lobular granulomatous mastitis, the etiologic agent in one case appeared to be Histoplasma capsulatum, based on Grocott methenamine silver staining, and represents the second reported case of histoplasmosis involving only breast parenchyma. Awareness of the rare entity, granulomatous mastitis, is important for the pathologist because the definitive diagnosis is made microscopically. Thorough evaluation of the breast tissue is essential for its management and should eventually contribute to the clarification of its etiology.

  3. Breaking Tolerance to Thyroid Antigens: Changing Concepts in Thyroid Autoimmunity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapoport, Basil

    2014-01-01

    Thyroid autoimmunity involves loss of tolerance to thyroid proteins in genetically susceptible individuals in association with environmental factors. In central tolerance, intrathymic autoantigen presentation deletes immature T cells with high affinity for autoantigen-derived peptides. Regulatory T cells provide an alternative mechanism to silence autoimmune T cells in the periphery. The TSH receptor (TSHR), thyroid peroxidase (TPO), and thyroglobulin (Tg) have unusual properties (“immunogenicity”) that contribute to breaking tolerance, including size, abundance, membrane association, glycosylation, and polymorphisms. Insight into loss of tolerance to thyroid proteins comes from spontaneous and induced animal models: 1) intrathymic expression controls self-tolerance to the TSHR, not TPO or Tg; 2) regulatory T cells are not involved in TSHR self-tolerance and instead control the balance between Graves' disease and thyroiditis; 3) breaking TSHR tolerance involves contributions from major histocompatibility complex molecules (humans and induced mouse models), TSHR polymorphism(s) (humans), and alternative splicing (mice); 4) loss of tolerance to Tg before TPO indicates that greater Tg immunogenicity vs TPO dominates central tolerance expectations; 5) tolerance is induced by thyroid autoantigen administration before autoimmunity is established; 6) interferon-α therapy for hepatitis C infection enhances thyroid autoimmunity in patients with intact immunity; Graves' disease developing after T-cell depletion reflects reconstitution autoimmunity; and 7) most environmental factors (including excess iodine) “reveal,” but do not induce, thyroid autoimmunity. Micro-organisms likely exert their effects via bystander stimulation. Finally, no single mechanism explains the loss of tolerance to thyroid proteins. The goal of inducing self-tolerance to prevent autoimmune thyroid disease will require accurate prediction of at-risk individuals together with an antigen

  4. Differential Signaling and Sugar Exchanges in Response to Avirulent Pathogen- and Symbiont-Derived Molecules in Tobacco Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carole Pfister

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Plants interact with microbes whose ultimate aim is to exploit plant carbohydrates for their reproduction. Plant–microbe interactions (PMIs are classified according to the nature of their trophic exchanges: while mutualistic microbes trade nutrients with plants, pathogens unilaterally divert carbohydrates. The early responses following microbe recognition and the subsequent control of plant sugar distribution are still poorly understood. To further decipher PMI functionality, we used tobacco cells treated with microbial molecules mimicking pathogenic or mutualistic PMIs, namely cryptogein, a defense elicitor, and chitotetrasaccharide (CO4, which is secreted by mycorrhizal fungi. CO4 was perceived by tobacco cells and triggered widespread transient signaling components such as a sharp cytosolic Ca2+ elevation, NtrbohD-dependent H2O2 production, and MAP kinase activation. These CO4-induced events differed from those induced by cryptogein, i.e., sustained events leading to cell death. Furthermore, cryptogein treatment inhibited glucose and sucrose uptake but not fructose uptake, and promoted the expression of NtSUT and NtSWEET sugar transporters, whereas CO4 had no effect on sugar uptake and only a slight effect on NtSWEET2B expression. Our results suggest that microbial molecules induce different signaling responses that reflect microbial lifestyle and the subsequent outcome of the interaction.

  5. Mimicking a natural pathway for de novo biosynthesis: natural vanillin production from accessible carbon sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Jun; Tao, Fei; Du, Huaiqing; Xu, Ping

    2015-09-02

    Plant secondary metabolites have been attracting people's attention for centuries, due to their potentials; however, their production is still difficult and costly. The rich diversity of microbes and microbial genome sequence data provide unprecedented gene resources that enable to develop efficient artificial pathways in microorganisms. Here, by mimicking a natural pathway of plants using microbial genes, a new metabolic route was developed in E. coli for the synthesis of vanillin, the most widely used flavoring agent. A series of factors were systematically investigated for raising production, including efficiency and suitability of genes, gene dosage, and culture media. The metabolically engineered strain produced 97.2 mg/L vanillin from l-tyrosine, 19.3 mg/L from glucose, 13.3 mg/L from xylose and 24.7 mg/L from glycerol. These results show that the metabolic route enables production of natural vanillin from low-cost substrates, suggesting that it is a good strategy to mimick natural pathways for artificial pathway design.

  6. Mimicking a natural pathway for de novo biosynthesis: natural vanillin production from accessible carbon sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Jun; Tao, Fei; Du, Huaiqing; Xu, Ping

    2015-01-01

    Plant secondary metabolites have been attracting people’s attention for centuries, due to their potentials; however, their production is still difficult and costly. The rich diversity of microbes and microbial genome sequence data provide unprecedented gene resources that enable to develop efficient artificial pathways in microorganisms. Here, by mimicking a natural pathway of plants using microbial genes, a new metabolic route was developed in E. coli for the synthesis of vanillin, the most widely used flavoring agent. A series of factors were systematically investigated for raising production, including efficiency and suitability of genes, gene dosage, and culture media. The metabolically engineered strain produced 97.2 mg/L vanillin from l-tyrosine, 19.3 mg/L from glucose, 13.3 mg/L from xylose and 24.7 mg/L from glycerol. These results show that the metabolic route enables production of natural vanillin from low-cost substrates, suggesting that it is a good strategy to mimick natural pathways for artificial pathway design. PMID:26329726

  7. Fast Times During Spring Breaks: Are Traffic Fatalities Another Consequence?

    OpenAIRE

    French, Michael; Gumus, Gulcin

    2014-01-01

    Every year in the United States, millions of college students travel for spring break, spending billions of dollars. We examine a potential adverse consequence of spring break that has received little attention in the literature - traffic safety. In particular, we estimate the impact of spring break season on fatal passenger vehicle crashes. Using daily county-level longitudinal data on traffic fatalities in popular spring break destinations from 1982-2011, we conduct separate analyses by age...

  8. Huge uterine-cervical diverticulum mimicking as a cyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S Chufal

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Here we report an incidental huge uterine-cervical diverticulum from a total abdominal hysterectomy specimen in a perimenopausal woman who presented with acute abdominal pain. The diverticulum was mimicking with various cysts present in the lateral side of the female genital tract. Histopathological examination confirmed this to be a cervical diverticulum with communication to uterine cavity through two different openings. They can attain huge size if left ignored for long duration and present a diagnostic challenge to clinicians, radiologists, as well as pathologists because of its extreme rarity. Therefore, diverticula should also be included as a differential diagnosis. Its histopathological confirmation also highlights that diverticula can present as an acute abdomen, requiring early diagnosis with appropriate timely intervention. Immunohistochemistry CD 10 has also been used to differentiate it from a mesonephric cyst.

  9. When does taking a break help in negotiations? The influence of breaks and social motivation on negotiation processes and outcomes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Harinck, F.; de Dreu, C.K.W.

    2011-01-01

    Most negotiations are interrupted from time to time to reflect on the negotiation or to do other pressing tasks. This study investigated how these breaks and the thoughts during these breaks influence subsequent negotiation behavior. Prosocially motivated dyads, with a tendency to think

  10. Ischiogluteal bursitis mimicking soft-tissue metastasis from a renal cell carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voelk, M.; Gmeinwieser, J.; Manke, C.; Strotzer, M.; Hanika, H.

    1998-01-01

    We report a case of ischiogluteal bursitis mimicking a soft-tissue metastasis from a renal cell carcinoma. A 66-year-old woman suffered from pain over the left buttock 6 months after she was operated on for renal cell carcinoma of the left kidney. CT of the abdomen and pelvis revealed a tumor-like lesion adjacent to the left os ischii, which was suspected to be a soft-tissue metastasis. Percutaneous biopsy revealed no evidence of malignancy, but the histopathological diagnosis of chronic bursitis. (orig.)

  11. Structural changes in transition economies: breaking the news or breaking the ice?

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Égert, B.; Jiménez-Rodríguez, R.; Kočenda, Evžen; Morales-Zumaquero, A.

    -, č. 16 (2006), s. 1-15 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : transition countries * structural break * volatility Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41234/1/IPC-working-paper-016-Kocenda.pdf

  12. Charge and color breaking minima in supersymmetric models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brhlik, Michal

    2001-01-01

    Supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model include complicated scalar sectors leading to the possible occurrence of non-standard minima along suitable directions in the field space. These minima usually break charge and/or color and their presence in the theory would require an explanation why the universe has settled in the standard electroweak symmetry breaking minimum. In this talk I illustrate the relevance of the charge and color breaking minima in the framework of the minimal supergravity model and a string motivated Horava-Witten scenario

  13. Budding yeast ATM/ATR control meiotic double-strand break (DSB levels by down-regulating Rec114, an essential component of the DSB-machinery.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús A Carballo

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available An essential feature of meiosis is Spo11 catalysis of programmed DNA double strand breaks (DSBs. Evidence suggests that the number of DSBs generated per meiosis is genetically determined and that this ability to maintain a pre-determined DSB level, or "DSB homeostasis", might be a property of the meiotic program. Here, we present direct evidence that Rec114, an evolutionarily conserved essential component of the meiotic DSB-machinery, interacts with DSB hotspot DNA, and that Tel1 and Mec1, the budding yeast ATM and ATR, respectively, down-regulate Rec114 upon meiotic DSB formation through phosphorylation. Mimicking constitutive phosphorylation reduces the interaction between Rec114 and DSB hotspot DNA, resulting in a reduction and/or delay in DSB formation. Conversely, a non-phosphorylatable rec114 allele confers a genome-wide increase in both DSB levels and in the interaction between Rec114 and the DSB hotspot DNA. These observations strongly suggest that Tel1 and/or Mec1 phosphorylation of Rec114 following Spo11 catalysis down-regulates DSB formation by limiting the interaction between Rec114 and DSB hotspots. We also present evidence that Ndt80, a meiosis specific transcription factor, contributes to Rec114 degradation, consistent with its requirement for complete cessation of DSB formation. Loss of Rec114 foci from chromatin is associated with homolog synapsis but independent of Ndt80 or Tel1/Mec1 phosphorylation. Taken together, we present evidence for three independent ways of regulating Rec114 activity, which likely contribute to meiotic DSBs-homeostasis in maintaining genetically determined levels of breaks.

  14. Budding Yeast ATM/ATR Control Meiotic Double-Strand Break (DSB) Levels by Down-Regulating Rec114, an Essential Component of the DSB-machinery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carballo, Jesús A.; Panizza, Silvia; Serrentino, Maria Elisabetta; Johnson, Anthony L.; Geymonat, Marco; Borde, Valérie; Klein, Franz; Cha, Rita S.

    2013-01-01

    An essential feature of meiosis is Spo11 catalysis of programmed DNA double strand breaks (DSBs). Evidence suggests that the number of DSBs generated per meiosis is genetically determined and that this ability to maintain a pre-determined DSB level, or “DSB homeostasis”, might be a property of the meiotic program. Here, we present direct evidence that Rec114, an evolutionarily conserved essential component of the meiotic DSB-machinery, interacts with DSB hotspot DNA, and that Tel1 and Mec1, the budding yeast ATM and ATR, respectively, down-regulate Rec114 upon meiotic DSB formation through phosphorylation. Mimicking constitutive phosphorylation reduces the interaction between Rec114 and DSB hotspot DNA, resulting in a reduction and/or delay in DSB formation. Conversely, a non-phosphorylatable rec114 allele confers a genome-wide increase in both DSB levels and in the interaction between Rec114 and the DSB hotspot DNA. These observations strongly suggest that Tel1 and/or Mec1 phosphorylation of Rec114 following Spo11 catalysis down-regulates DSB formation by limiting the interaction between Rec114 and DSB hotspots. We also present evidence that Ndt80, a meiosis specific transcription factor, contributes to Rec114 degradation, consistent with its requirement for complete cessation of DSB formation. Loss of Rec114 foci from chromatin is associated with homolog synapsis but independent of Ndt80 or Tel1/Mec1 phosphorylation. Taken together, we present evidence for three independent ways of regulating Rec114 activity, which likely contribute to meiotic DSBs-homeostasis in maintaining genetically determined levels of breaks. PMID:23825959

  15. Dynamical SUSY breaking in meta-stable vacua

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Intriligator, Kenneth; Seiberg, Nathan; Shih, David

    2006-01-01

    Dynamical supersymmetry breaking in a long-lived meta-stable vacuum is a phenomenologically viable possibility. This relatively unexplored avenue leads to many new models of dynamical supersymmetry breaking. Here, we present a surprisingly simple class of models with meta-stable dynamical supersymmetry breaking: N = 1 supersymmetric QCD, with massive flavors. Though these theories are strongly coupled, we definitively demonstrate the existence of meta-stable vacua by using the free-magnetic dual. Model building challenges, such as large flavor symmetries and the absence of an R-symmetry, are easily accommodated in these theories. Their simplicity also suggests that broken supersymmetry is generic in supersymmetric field theory and in the landscape of string vacua

  16. Chronic Expanding Hematoma of the Adrenal Gland Mimicking a Hemangioma: A Case Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Hyun Jung; Kim, Min Jeong; Ha, Hong Il; Lee, In Jae; Lee, Kwan Seop; Seo, Jin Won [Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang (Korea, Republic of); Yeo, Seung Gu [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-04-15

    We report a rare case of unilateral chronic expanding hematoma in the left adrenal gland, mimicking a hemangioma on multiphase computed tomography (CT). On CT, the mass showed several enhancing foci of irregular and frond-like shape in the periphery at the hepatic arterial phase and gradual fill-in pattern at the portal venous phase, which was similar with the enhancement pattern of hemangioma.

  17. Large eddy simulation of breaking waves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Erik Damgaard; Deigaard, Rolf

    2001-01-01

    A numerical model is used to simulate wave breaking, the large scale water motions and turbulence induced by the breaking process. The model consists of a free surface model using the surface markers method combined with a three-dimensional model that solves the flow equations. The turbulence....... The incoming waves are specified by a flux boundary condition. The waves are approaching in the shore-normal direction and are breaking on a plane, constant slope beach. The first few wave periods are simulated by a two-dimensional model in the vertical plane normal to the beach line. The model describes...... the steepening and the overturning of the wave. At a given instant, the model domain is extended to three dimensions, and the two-dimensional flow field develops spontaneously three-dimensional flow features with turbulent eddies. After a few wave periods, stationary (periodic) conditions are achieved...

  18. Breaking bad news among cancer physicians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sami Ayed Alshammary

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Breaking bad news to patients with cancer diagnosis is not an easy task for physicians. The diagnosis must be explicitly stated and understood, and prognosis must be well-discussed in the most gentle and comfortable manner. It is important that the disclosure is performed in a way that patients will not lose all hope and get very depressed, leading them to undergo an abrupt change of their outlook in life. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the physicians' perceptions and perspectives of breaking bad news to cancer patients. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all comprehensive cancer centre physicians currently working in a university teaching hospital in the Middle East was conducted from August to September 2016. Results: Sixty-eight percent responded to the survey. Eighty-four percent were comfortable with breaking bad news, and 70% had training in breaking bad news. Eighty-six percent of responders stated that patients should be told about their cancer. Almost 30% of the respondents stated that they would still disclose the diagnosis to patients even if it would be against the preference of the relatives. Nearly 61% said that they would only tell the details to the patients if asked while 67% of them disagreed that patients should be told about the diagnoses only if the relatives consent. About 51% of physicians wanted to discuss the bad news with the family members and patient together, whereas 24% stated that the patient alone should be involved in the discussion. Conclusion: Physicians face a dilemma when families do not wish the patient to know the cancer diagnosis and this highlights the necessity of taking into consideration the social circumstances in healthcare. When taking these into considerations, curriculum in the medical school must, therefore, be updated and must integrate the acquisition of skills in breaking bad news early in training.

  19. Quantum break-time of de Sitter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dvali, Gia; Gómez, César; Zell, Sebastian, E-mail: georgi.dvali@physik.uni-muenchen.de, E-mail: cesar.gomez@uam.es, E-mail: sebastian.zell@campus.lmu.de [Arnold Sommerfeld Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Theresienstraße 37, 80333 München (Germany)

    2017-06-01

    The quantum break-time of a system is the time-scale after which its true quantum evolution departs from the classical mean field evolution. For capturing it, a quantum resolution of the classical background—e.g., in terms of a coherent state—is required. In this paper, we first consider a simple scalar model with anharmonic oscillations and derive its quantum break-time. Next, following [1], we apply these ideas to de Sitter space. We formulate a simple model of a spin-2 field, which for some time reproduces the de Sitter metric and simultaneously allows for its well-defined representation as quantum coherent state of gravitons. The mean occupation number N of background gravitons turns out to be equal to the de Sitter horizon area in Planck units, while their frequency is given by the de Sitter Hubble parameter. In the semi-classical limit, we show that the model reproduces all the known properties of de Sitter, such as the redshift of probe particles and thermal Gibbons-Hawking radiation, all in the language of quantum S -matrix scatterings and decays of coherent state gravitons. Most importantly, this framework allows to capture the 1/ N -effects to which the usual semi-classical treatment is blind. They violate the de Sitter symmetry and lead to a finite quantum break-time of the de Sitter state equal to the de Sitter radius times N . We also point out that the quantum-break time is inversely proportional to the number of particle species in the theory. Thus, the quantum break-time imposes the following consistency condition: older and species-richer universes must have smaller cosmological constants. For the maximal, phenomenologically acceptable number of species, the observed cosmological constant would saturate this bound if our Universe were 10{sup 100} years old in its entire classical history.

  20. Quantum break-time of de Sitter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvali, Gia; Gómez, César; Zell, Sebastian

    2017-06-01

    The quantum break-time of a system is the time-scale after which its true quantum evolution departs from the classical mean field evolution. For capturing it, a quantum resolution of the classical background—e.g., in terms of a coherent state—is required. In this paper, we first consider a simple scalar model with anharmonic oscillations and derive its quantum break-time. Next, following [1], we apply these ideas to de Sitter space. We formulate a simple model of a spin-2 field, which for some time reproduces the de Sitter metric and simultaneously allows for its well-defined representation as quantum coherent state of gravitons. The mean occupation number N of background gravitons turns out to be equal to the de Sitter horizon area in Planck units, while their frequency is given by the de Sitter Hubble parameter. In the semi-classical limit, we show that the model reproduces all the known properties of de Sitter, such as the redshift of probe particles and thermal Gibbons-Hawking radiation, all in the language of quantum S-matrix scatterings and decays of coherent state gravitons. Most importantly, this framework allows to capture the 1/N-effects to which the usual semi-classical treatment is blind. They violate the de Sitter symmetry and lead to a finite quantum break-time of the de Sitter state equal to the de Sitter radius times N. We also point out that the quantum-break time is inversely proportional to the number of particle species in the theory. Thus, the quantum break-time imposes the following consistency condition: older and species-richer universes must have smaller cosmological constants. For the maximal, phenomenologically acceptable number of species, the observed cosmological constant would saturate this bound if our Universe were 10100 years old in its entire classical history.

  1. ROSA-III 50 % break integral test RUN 916

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yonomoto, Taisuke; Tasaka, Kanji; Koizumi, Yasuo; Anoda, Yoshinari; Kumamaru, Hiroshige; Nakamura, Hideo; Suzuki, Mitsuhiro; Murata, Hideo

    1985-08-01

    This report presents the experimental data of RUN 916 conducted at the ROSA-III test facility. The facility is a volumetrically scaled (1/424) simulator for a BWR/6 with the electrically heated core, the break simulator and the scaled ECCS(emergency core cooling system). RUN 916 was a 50 % split break test at the recirculation pump suction line with an assumption of HPCS diegel generator failure and conducted as one of the break area parameter tests. A peak cladding temperature (PCT) of 917 K was reached at 190 s after the break during the reflooding phase. Whole core was completely quenched by ECCS, and the effectiveness of ECCS was confermed. The primary test results of RUN 916 are compared in this report with those of RUN 926, which was a 200 % double-ended break test. The initiation of core dryout in RUN 916 was later than that in RUN 926 because of the smaller discharge flow rate. Duration of core dryourt was, however, longer in RUN 916 because of later actuation of ECCSs. PCT in RUN 916 was 133 K higher than that in RUN 926. (author)

  2. Time-reversal symmetry breaking in quantum billiards

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaefer, Florian

    2009-01-26

    The present doctoral thesis describes experimentally measured properties of the resonance spectra of flat microwave billiards with partially broken timereversal invariance induced by an embedded magnetized ferrite. A vector network analyzer determines the complex scattering matrix elements. The data is interpreted in terms of the scattering formalism developed in nuclear physics. At low excitation frequencies the scattering matrix displays isolated resonances. At these the effect of the ferrite on isolated resonances (singlets) and pairs of nearly degenerate resonances (doublets) is investigated. The hallmark of time-reversal symmetry breaking is the violation of reciprocity, i.e. of the symmetry of the scattering matrix. One finds that reciprocity holds in singlets; it is violated in doublets. This is modeled by an effective Hamiltonian of the resonator. A comparison of the model to the data yields time-reversal symmetry breaking matrix elements in the order of the level spacing. Their dependence on the magnetization of the ferrite is understood in terms of its magnetic properties. At higher excitation frequencies the resonances overlap and the scattering matrix elements fluctuate irregularly (Ericson fluctuations). They are analyzed in terms of correlation functions. The data are compared to three models based on random matrix theory. The model by Verbaarschot, Weidenmueller and Zirnbauer describes time-reversal invariant scattering processes. The one by Fyodorov, Savin and Sommers achieves the same for systems with complete time-reversal symmetry breaking. An extended model has been developed that accounts for partial breaking of time-reversal invariance. This extended model is in general agreement with the data, while the applicability of the other two models is limited. The cross-correlation function between forward and backward reactions determines the time-reversal symmetry breaking matrix elements of the Hamiltonian to up to 0.3 mean level spacings. Finally

  3. Time-reversal symmetry breaking in quantum billiards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefer, Florian

    2009-01-01

    The present doctoral thesis describes experimentally measured properties of the resonance spectra of flat microwave billiards with partially broken timereversal invariance induced by an embedded magnetized ferrite. A vector network analyzer determines the complex scattering matrix elements. The data is interpreted in terms of the scattering formalism developed in nuclear physics. At low excitation frequencies the scattering matrix displays isolated resonances. At these the effect of the ferrite on isolated resonances (singlets) and pairs of nearly degenerate resonances (doublets) is investigated. The hallmark of time-reversal symmetry breaking is the violation of reciprocity, i.e. of the symmetry of the scattering matrix. One finds that reciprocity holds in singlets; it is violated in doublets. This is modeled by an effective Hamiltonian of the resonator. A comparison of the model to the data yields time-reversal symmetry breaking matrix elements in the order of the level spacing. Their dependence on the magnetization of the ferrite is understood in terms of its magnetic properties. At higher excitation frequencies the resonances overlap and the scattering matrix elements fluctuate irregularly (Ericson fluctuations). They are analyzed in terms of correlation functions. The data are compared to three models based on random matrix theory. The model by Verbaarschot, Weidenmueller and Zirnbauer describes time-reversal invariant scattering processes. The one by Fyodorov, Savin and Sommers achieves the same for systems with complete time-reversal symmetry breaking. An extended model has been developed that accounts for partial breaking of time-reversal invariance. This extended model is in general agreement with the data, while the applicability of the other two models is limited. The cross-correlation function between forward and backward reactions determines the time-reversal symmetry breaking matrix elements of the Hamiltonian to up to 0.3 mean level spacings. Finally

  4. Molecular dynamics simulation of a DNA containing a single strand break

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamaguchi, H.; Siebers, G.; Furukawa, A.; Otagiri, N.; Osman, R

    2002-07-01

    Molecular dynamics simulations were performed for a dodecamer DNA containing a single strand break (SSB), which has been represented by a 3'-OH deoxyribose and 5'-OH phosphate in the middle of the strand. Molecular force field parameters of the 5'-OH phosphate region were determined from an ab initio calculation at the HF/6-31G level using the program package GAMESS. The DNA was placed in a periodic boundary box with water molecules and Na+ counter-ions to produce a neutralised system. After minimisation, the system was heated to 300 K, equilibrated and a production run at constant NTP was executed for 1 ns using AMBER 4.1. Snapshots of the SSB-containing DNA and a detailed analysis of the equilibriated average structure revealed surprisingly small conformational changes compared to normal DNA. However, dynamic properties calculated using the essential dynamics method showed some features that may be important for the recognition of this damage by repair enzymes. (author)

  5. Molecule nanoweaver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerald, II; Rex, E [Brookfield, IL; Klingler, Robert J [Glenview, IL; Rathke, Jerome W [Homer Glen, IL; Diaz, Rocio [Chicago, IL; Vukovic, Lela [Westchester, IL

    2009-03-10

    A method, apparatus, and system for constructing uniform macroscopic films with tailored geometric assemblies of molecules on the nanometer scale. The method, apparatus, and system include providing starting molecules of selected character, applying one or more force fields to the molecules to cause them to order and condense with NMR spectra and images being used to monitor progress in creating the desired geometrical assembly and functionality of molecules that comprise the films.

  6. Spontaneous symmetry breaking, self-trapping, and Josephson oscillations

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    This volume collects a a number of contributions on spontaneous symmetry breaking. Current studies in this general field are going ahead at a full speed. The book present review chapters which give an overview on the major break throughs of recent years. It covers a number of different physical settings which are introduced when a nonlinearity is added to the underlying symmetric problems and its strength exceeds a certain critical value. The corresponding loss of symmetry, called spontaneous symmetry breaking, alias self-trapping into asymmetric states is extensively discussed in this book.

  7. Breaking Bad Habits | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of this page please turn Javascript on. Feature: Bad Habits Breaking Bad Habits: Why It's So Hard to Change Past Issues / ... News in Health ( http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/ ) Break Bad Habits Avoid temptations. If you always stop for a ...

  8. View of industry on the impact of pipe break criteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernsen, S.A.

    1983-01-01

    Historically, large pipe breaks in the types of materials used and under operating conditions similar to those in light water reactor service have not occurred. Nevertheless, the non-mechanistic assumption of a double ended pipe break of the early sixties, selected for loss of coolant accident analysis purposes, has become a mechanistic criterion for the design and arrangement of high pressure piping systems and their associated supports and enclosures in today's nuclear plants. While it seems reasonable and appropriate to continue to design the Emergency Core Cooling Systems for a range of loss of coolant accidents up to and including those that approximate the area of the largest pipe connected to the reactor vessel and to use this break in determining the loading and temperature rise rate for containment structures and equipment qualification, it no longer seems reasonable to provide precisely engineered break protection for a limited number of potential pipe break locations. This observation is gaining increasing support, particularly as engineering judgment and historical perspectives are being supplemented by both deterministic and probabilistic studies that indicate the potential for large instantaneous breaks in nuclear grade piping systems is virtually incredible. Fracture mechanics analyses support leak-before-break assumptions with wide margins and probabilistic studies indicate potentials for double-ended pipe breaks in the range of less than one in a billion years

  9. Inactivation of Bacillus atrophaeus and of Aspergillus niger using beams of argon ions, of oxygen molecules and of oxygen atoms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raballand, V; Benedikt, J; Keudell, A von [Research Group Reactive Plasmas, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, 44780 Bochum (Germany); Wunderlich, J [Fraunhofer Institut for Process Engineering and Packaging, Giggenhauser Strasse 35, 85354 Freising (Germany)], E-mail: Achim.vonKeudell@rub.de

    2008-06-07

    The inactivation of spores of Bacillus atrophaeus and of Aspergillus niger using beams of argon ions, of oxygen molecules and of oxygen atoms is studied. Thereby, the conditions occurring in oxygen containing low pressure plasmas are mimicked and fundamental inactivation mechanisms can be revealed. It is shown that the impact of O atoms has no effect on the viability of the spores and that no etching of the spore coat occurs up to an O atom fluence of 3.5 x 10{sup 19} cm{sup -2}. The impact of argon ions with an energy of 200 eV does not cause significant erosion for fluences up to 1.15 x 10{sup 18} cm{sup -2}. However, the combined impact of argon ions and oxygen molecules or atoms causes significant etching of the spores and significant inactivation. This is explained by the process of chemical sputtering, where an ion-induced defect at the surface of the spore reacts with either the incident bi-radical O{sub 2} or with an incident O atom. This leads to the formation of CO, CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O and thus to erosion.

  10. Low-Energy Electron Scattering by Sugarcane Lignocellulosic Biomass Molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Eliane; Sanchez, Sergio; Bettega, Marcio; Lima, Marco; Varella, Marcio

    2012-06-01

    The use of second generation (SG) bioethanol instead of fossil fuels could be a good strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the efficient production of SG bioethanol has being a challenge to researchers around the world. The main barrier one must overcome is the pretreatment, a very important step in SG bioethanol aimed at breaking down the biomass and facilitates the extraction of sugars from the biomass. Plasma-based treatment, which can generate reactive species, could be an interesting possibility since involves low-cost atmospheric-pressure plasma. In order to offer theoretical support to this technique, the interaction of low-energy electrons from the plasma with biomass is investigated. This study was motived by several works developed by Sanche et al., in which they understood that DNA damage arises from dissociative electron attachment, a mechanism in which electrons are resonantly trapped by DNA subunits. We will present elastic cross sections for low-energy electron scattering by sugarcane biomass molecules, obtained with the Schwinger multichannel method. Our calculations indicate the formation of π* shape resonances in the lignin subunits, while a series of broad and overlapping σ* resonances are found in cellulose and hemicellulose subunits. The presence of π* and σ* resonances could give rise to direct and indirect dissociation pathways in biomass. Then, theoretical resonance energies can be useful to guide the plasma-based pretreatment to break down specific linkages of interest in biomass.

  11. Varicella Zoster Infection: A Rare Cause of Abdominal Pain Mimicking Acute Abdomen

    OpenAIRE

    Olmez, Deniz; Boz, Alper; Erkan, Nazif

    2009-01-01

    Varicella zoster is an acute viral infection that results from reactivation of a latent varicella zoster virus. It usually occurs in adult population and immune compromised patients. It rarely occurs in healthy children. Here we present a 14 years old male with varicella zoster that had abdominal pain mimicking acute abdomen to alert others who are consulted for the differentiation of acute abdomen and others who may be consulted for pain management. Keywords Varicella zoster; Abdominal pain

  12. String breaking with Wilson loops?

    CERN Document Server

    Kratochvila, S; Kratochvila, Slavo; Forcrand, Philippe de

    2003-01-01

    A convincing, uncontroversial observation of string breaking, when the static potential is extracted from Wilson loops only, is still missing. This failure can be understood if the overlap of the Wilson loop with the broken string is exponentially small. In that case, the broken string ground state will only be seen if the Wilson loop is long enough. Our preliminary results show string breaking in the context of the 3d SU(2) adjoint static potential, using the L\\"uscher-Weisz exponential variance reduction approach. As a by-product, we measure the fundamental SU(2) static potential with improved accuracy and see clear deviations from Casimir scaling.

  13. The transcription fidelity factor GreA impedes DNA break repair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivaramakrishnan, Priya; Sepúlveda, Leonardo A; Halliday, Jennifer A; Liu, Jingjing; Núñez, María Angélica Bravo; Golding, Ido; Rosenberg, Susan M; Herman, Christophe

    2017-10-12

    Homologous recombination repairs DNA double-strand breaks and must function even on actively transcribed DNA. Because break repair prevents chromosome loss, the completion of repair is expected to outweigh the transcription of broken templates. However, the interplay between DNA break repair and transcription processivity is unclear. Here we show that the transcription factor GreA inhibits break repair in Escherichia coli. GreA restarts backtracked RNA polymerase and hence promotes transcription fidelity. We report that removal of GreA results in markedly enhanced break repair via the classic RecBCD-RecA pathway. Using a deep-sequencing method to measure chromosomal exonucleolytic degradation, we demonstrate that the absence of GreA limits RecBCD-mediated resection. Our findings suggest that increased RNA polymerase backtracking promotes break repair by instigating RecA loading by RecBCD, without the influence of canonical Chi signals. The idea that backtracked RNA polymerase can stimulate recombination presents a DNA transaction conundrum: a transcription fidelity factor that compromises genomic integrity.

  14. What records have we been breaking?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartholow, J.M.; Milhous, R.

    2002-01-01

    "Today was another record-breaking day," the evening radio or television declares. High temperatures, low temperatures, floods, drought - take your choice. But how can we put these pronouncements in perspective? What do they really mean?We present two types of information in this article: 1) an analysis of daily air temperature and precipitation for Fort Collins and 2) an analysis of annual precipitation for Fort Collins. Each analysis provides a different meaning to the statement about a record-breaking day or year.

  15. Dissociative stupor mimicking consciousness disorder in an advanced lung cancer patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tada, Yukio; Okano, Tetsuya; Kaga, Akiko; Yamazaki, Susumu; Kawada, Satoshi; Ishida, Mayumi; Kobayashi, Kunihiko; Onishi, Hideki

    2012-06-01

    Although there are three kinds of stupor in psychiatry, dissociative stupor is the most commonly recognized. In psychiatric clinics or emergency rooms, dissociative stupor is common, but in an oncology setting it is hardly known. Therefore, distinguishing dissociative stupor from consciousness disorder is occasionally difficult, especially in the advanced or terminal phase. We report an advanced lung cancer patient who presented dissociative stupor mimicking consciousness disorder. It is necessary to distinguish between consciousness disorder and dissociative stupor. In addition, consultation with a psychiatrist should be taken into consideration.

  16. Ischiogluteal bursitis mimicking soft-tissue metastasis from a renal cell carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voelk, M.; Gmeinwieser, J.; Manke, C.; Strotzer, M. [Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Regensburg (Germany); Hanika, H. [Department of Urology, St. Josef Hospital, Regensburg (Germany)

    1998-09-01

    We report a case of ischiogluteal bursitis mimicking a soft-tissue metastasis from a renal cell carcinoma. A 66-year-old woman suffered from pain over the left buttock 6 months after she was operated on for renal cell carcinoma of the left kidney. CT of the abdomen and pelvis revealed a tumor-like lesion adjacent to the left os ischii, which was suspected to be a soft-tissue metastasis. Percutaneous biopsy revealed no evidence of malignancy, but the histopathological diagnosis of chronic bursitis. (orig.) With 2 figs., 8 refs.

  17. Ovarian cancer mimicking recurrence at colorectal anastomosis: report of a case.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Reardon, C M

    2012-02-03

    PURPOSE: The aim of this article is to emphasize the increased risk of developing metachronous ovarian tumors after resection of rectal cancer. METHOD AND RESULTS: We report the case of a postmenopausal female patient who, five years after anterior resection, developed a primary ovarian malignancy that invaded a rectal anastomosis and in so doing mimicked a recurrence of a Dukes A rectal cancer. To our knowledge, such an occurrence has not been described previously in the literature. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates the possible benefits of routine prophylactic oophorectomy at the time of colorectal cancer resection.

  18. Application of pulsed field gel electrophoresis to determine γ-ray-induced double-strand breaks in yeast chromosomal molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friedl, A.A.; Hahn, K.; Eckardt-Schupp, F.; Kellerer, A.M.; Beisker, W.

    1993-01-01

    The frequency of DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) was determined in yeast cells exposed to γ-rays under anoxic conditions. Genomic DNA of treated cells was separated by pulsed field gel electrophoresis, and two different approaches for the evaluation of the gels were employed: (1) The DNA mass distribution profile obtained by electrophoresis was compared to computed profiles, and the number of DSB per unit length was then derived in terms of a fitting procedure; (2) hybridization of selected chromosomes was performed, and a comparison of the hybridization signals in treated and untreated samples was then used to derive the frequency of dsb. The two assays gave similar results for the frequency of dsb ((1.07 ± 0.06) x 10 -9 Gy -1 bp -1 and (0.93 ± 0.09) x 10 -9 Gy -1 bp -1 , respectively). The dsb frequency was found to be linearly dependent on dose. (author)

  19. Photodissociation of quantum state-selected diatomic molecules yields new insight into ultracold chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Mickey; McGuyer, Bart H.; Lee, Chih-Hsi; Apfelbeck, Florian; Zelevinsky, Tanya

    2016-05-01

    When a molecule is subjected to a sufficiently energetic photon it can break apart into fragments through a process called ``photodissociation''. For over 70 years this simple chemical reaction has served as a vital experimental tool for acquiring information about molecular structure, since the character of the photodissociative transition can be inferred by measuring the 3D photofragment angular distribution (PAD). While theoretical understanding of this process has gradually evolved from classical considerations to a fully quantum approach, experiments to date have not yet revealed the full quantum nature of this process. In my talk I will describe recent experiments involving the photodissociation of ultracold, optical lattice-trapped, and fully quantum state-resolved 88Sr2 molecules. Optical absorption images of the PADs produced in these experiments reveal features which are inherently quantum mechanical in nature, such as matter-wave interference between output channels, and are sensitive to the quantum statistics of the molecular wavefunctions. The results of these experiments cannot be predicted using quasiclassical methods. Instead, we describe our results with a fully quantum mechanical model yielding new intuition about ultracold chemistry.

  20. Autophagy‑mediated adaptation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells to hypoxia‑mimicking conditions constitutes an attractive therapeutic target.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owada, Satoshi; Endo, Hitoshi; Shida, Yukari; Okada, Chisa; Ito, Kanako; Nezu, Takahiro; Tatemichi, Masayuki

    2018-04-01

    Hepatocellular carcinoma has extremely poor prognosis. In cancerous liver tissues, aberrant proliferation of cancer cells leads to the creation of an area where an immature vascular network is formed. Since oxygen is supplied to cancer tissues through the bloodstream, a part of the tumor is exposed to hypoxic conditions. As hypoxia is known to severely reduce the effectiveness of existing anticancer agents, novel valid therapeutic targets must be identified for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Generally, autophagy has been reported to play an important role in the adaptation of cancer cells to hypoxia. However, the exact role and significance of this process vary depending on the cancer type, requiring detailed analysis in individual primary tumors and cell lines. In the present study, we examined autophagy induced by cobalt chloride, a hypoxia‑mimicking agent, in hepatocellular carcinoma cells with the aim to evaluate the validity of this process as a potential therapeutic target. We observed that treatment with cobalt chloride induced autophagy, including the intracellular quality control mechanism, in an AMPK‑dependent manner. Furthermore, treatment with autophagy inhibitors (bafilomycin and LY294002) resulted in significant, highly‑selective cytotoxicity and apoptosis activation under hypoxia‑mimicking conditions. The knockdown of AMPK also revealed significant cytotoxicity in hypoxia‑mimicking conditions. These results clearly demonstrated that autophagy, especially mitophagy, was induced by the AMPK pathway when hepatocellular carcinoma cells were subjected to hypoxic conditions and played an important role in the adaptation of these cells to such conditions. Thus, autophagy may constitute an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

  1. Biological defense mechanisms against DNA double-strand break and their possible medical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Yoshihisa

    2011-01-01

    Radiation is now widely used for clinical diagnosis and therapeutics. On the other hand, radiation influences various tissues represented by immunological and reproductive systems, and is also recognized as one of the cause of carcinogenesis. Such pleiotropic effects of radiation are mediated through generation of damages on DNA molecule, vitally important genetic macromolecule. Among various types of DNA damages, double-strand break (DSB) is considered most critical and, therefore, responsible for biological effects. DSB is repaired mainly through two pathways: non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). Understanding of these mechanisms has been greatly deepened in past 20 years and is now providing a promising approach toward cancer therapy. We have studied the mechanisms of NHEJ, focusing especially on the role of phosphorylation and the assembly of machinery therein, which will be introduced below. (author)

  2. Spontaneous charge breaking in the NMSSM: dangerous or not?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krauss, Manuel E.; Opferkuch, Toby [Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics and Physikalisches Institut der Universitaet Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Staub, Florian [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP), Karlsruhe (Germany); Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Nuclear Physics (IKP), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany)

    2017-05-15

    We investigate the impact of charge-breaking minima on the vacuum stability of the NMSSM. We concentrate on the case of vanishing A-terms in the sfermion sector, i.e. the only potentially dangerous sources of charge breaking are vacuum expectation values of the charged Higgs fields. We find that, in contrast to Two-Higgs-Doublet Models like the MSSM, at both tree and loop level there exist global charge-breaking minima. Consequently, many regions of parameter space are rendered metastable, which otherwise would have been considered stable if these charge-breaking minima were neglected. However, the inclusion of these new scalar field directions has little impact on otherwise metastable vacuum configurations. (orig.)

  3. Molecular self assembly and chiral recognition of copper octacyanophthalocyanine on Au(111): Interplay of intermolecular and molecule-substrate interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sk, Rejaul; Dhara, Barun; Miller, Joel; Deshpande, Aparna

    Submolecular resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of copper octacyanophthalocyanine, CuPc(CN)8, at 77 K demonstrates that these achiral molecules form a two dimensional (2D) tetramer-based self-assembly upon evaporation onto an atomically flat Au(111) substrate. They assemble in two different structurally chiral configurations upon adsorption on Au(111). Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS),acquired at 77 K, unveils the HOMO and LUMO energy levels of this self-assembly. Voltage dependent STM images show that each molecule in both the structurally chiral configurations individually becomes chiral by breaking the mirror symmetry due to the enhanced intermolecular dipolar coupling interaction at the LUMO energy while the individual molecules remain achiral at the HOMO energy and within the HOMO-LUMO gap. At the LUMO energy, the handedness of the each chiral molecule is decided by the direction of the dipolar coupling interaction in the tetramer unit cell. This preference for LUMO energy indicates that this chirality is purely electronic in nature and it manifests on top of the organizational chirality that is present in the self-assembly independent of the orbital energy. Supported by IISER Pune and DAE-BRNS, India (Project No. 2011/20/37C/17/BRNS).

  4. DNA breaks and chromatin structural changes enhance the transcription of autoimmune regulator target genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guha, Mithu; Saare, Mario; Maslovskaja, Julia; Kisand, Kai; Liiv, Ingrid; Haljasorg, Uku; Tasa, Tõnis; Metspalu, Andres; Milani, Lili; Peterson, Pärt

    2017-04-21

    The autoimmune regulator (AIRE) protein is the key factor in thymic negative selection of autoreactive T cells by promoting the ectopic expression of tissue-specific genes in the thymic medullary epithelium. Mutations in AIRE cause a monogenic autoimmune disease called autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy. AIRE has been shown to promote DNA breaks via its interaction with topoisomerase 2 (TOP2). In this study, we investigated topoisomerase-induced DNA breaks and chromatin structural alterations in conjunction with AIRE-dependent gene expression. Using RNA sequencing, we found that inhibition of TOP2 religation activity by etoposide in AIRE-expressing cells had a synergistic effect on genes with low expression levels. AIRE-mediated transcription was not only enhanced by TOP2 inhibition but also by the TOP1 inhibitor camptothecin. The transcriptional activation was associated with structural rearrangements in chromatin, notably the accumulation of γH2AX and the exchange of histone H1 with HMGB1 at AIRE target gene promoters. In addition, we found the transcriptional up-regulation to co-occur with the chromatin structural changes within the genomic cluster of carcinoembryonic antigen-like cellular adhesion molecule genes. Overall, our results suggest that the presence of AIRE can trigger molecular events leading to an altered chromatin landscape and the enhanced transcription of low-expressed genes. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  5. Evaluation of ATLAS 100% DVI Line Break Using TRACE Code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huh, Byung Gil; Bang, Young Seok; Cheong, Ae Ju; Woo, Sweng Woong

    2011-01-01

    ATLAS (Advanced Thermal-Hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation) is an integral effect test facility in KAERI. It had installed completely to simulate the accident for the OPR1000 and the APR1400 in 2005. After then, several tests for LBLOCA, DVI line break have been performed successfully to resolve the safety issues of the APR1400. Especially, a DVI line break is considered as another spectrum among the SBLOCAs in APR1400 because the DVI line is directly connected to the reactor vessel and the thermal hydraulic behaviors are expected to be different from those for the cold leg injection. However, there are not enough experimental data for the DVI line break. Therefore, integral effect data for the DVI line break of ATLAS is very useful and available for an improvement and validation of safety codes. For the DVI line break in ATLAS, several analyses using MARS and RELAP codes were performed in the ATLAS DSP (Domestic Standard Problem) meetings. However, TRACE code has still not used to simulate a DVI line break. TRACE code has developed as the unified code for the reactor thermal hydraulic analyses in USNRC. In this study, the 100% DVI line break in ATLAS was evaluated by TRACE code. The objectives of this study are to identify the prediction capability of TRACE code for the major thermal hydraulic phenomena of a DVI line break in ATLAS

  6. Parental monitoring and rule-breaking behaviour in secondary school students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kovačević-Lepojević Marina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Parental monitoring is recognised as one of the most important family factors that are associated with rule-breaking behaviour. The objective of this paper is to determine the nature of correlations between parental monitoring and its key components (parents’ knowledge, child disclosure, parental solicitation and parental control and rule-breaking behaviour. Additionally, the prediction of the rule-breaking behaviour by parental monitoring variables, age and gender will be considered. The sample included 507 secondary school students from Belgrade, aged 15 to 18. The data on rule-breaking behaviour were collected through ASEBA YSR/11-18, and on parental monitoring via the Parental monitoring scale. The most important conclusions are the following: the strongest negative correlations are found between parental knowledge and child disclosure with rule-breaking behaviour; child disclosure is the most important source of parental knowledge; the variables of parental monitoring, gender and age explained 31.4% of the variance of rule-breaking behaviour; finally, parental control and age, unlike other variables, did not predict rule-breaking behaviour. Given that parents mostly know how children spend their free time only if the children tell this to them, it is recommended that the prevention programme of rule-breaking behaviour should be oriented towards the improvement of parent-child relationships instead of focusing on parental control and supervision. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 179017: Socijalna participacija osoba sa intelektualnom ometenošću

  7. Nanosecond laser pulses for mimicking thermal effects on nanostructured tungsten-based materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besozzi, E.; Maffini, A.; Dellasega, D.; Russo, V.; Facibeni, A.; Pazzaglia, A.; Beghi, M. G.; Passoni, M.

    2018-03-01

    In this work, we exploit nanosecond laser irradiation as a compact solution for investigating the thermomechanical behavior of tungsten materials under extreme thermal loads at the laboratory scale. Heat flux factor thresholds for various thermal effects, such as melting, cracking and recrystallization, are determined under both single and multishot experiments. The use of nanosecond lasers for mimicking thermal effects induced on W by fusion-relevant thermal loads is thus validated by direct comparison of the thresholds obtained in this work and the ones reported in the literature for electron beams and millisecond laser irradiation. Numerical simulations of temperature and thermal stress performed on a 2D thermomechanical code are used to predict the heat flux factor thresholds of the different thermal effects. We also investigate the thermal effect thresholds of various nanostructured W coatings. These coatings are produced by pulsed laser deposition, mimicking W coatings in tokamaks and W redeposited layers. All the coatings show lower damage thresholds with respect to bulk W. In general, thresholds decrease as the porosity degree of the materials increases. We thus propose a model to predict these thresholds for coatings with various morphologies, simply based on their porosity degree, which can be directly estimated by measuring the variation of the coating mass density with respect to that of the bulk.

  8. DNA double-strand breaks & poptosis in the testis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hamer, Geert

    2003-01-01

    During spermatogenesis, DNA damage is a naturally occurring event. At a certain stage, during the first meiotic prophase, DNA breaks are endogenously induced and even required for meiotic recombination. We studied these DNA breaks but also used ionizing radiation (IR) to induce DNA double-strand

  9. Granulomatous prostatitis after intravesical immunotherapy mimicking prostate cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waldemar Białek

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Intravesical immunotherapy with attenuated strains of Mycobacterium bovis is a widely used therapeutic option in patients with non-muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. A rare complication of intravesical therapy with the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine is granulomatous prostatitis, which due to increasing levels of prostate-specific antigen and abnormalities found in transrectal examination of the prostate may suggest concomitant prostate cancer. A case of extensive granulomatous prostatitis in a 61-year-old patient which occurred after the first course of a well-tolerated Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy is presented. Due to abnormalities found in rectal examination and an abnormal transrectal ultrasound image of the prostate with extensive infiltration mimicking neoplastic hyperplasia a core biopsy of the prostate was performed. Histopathological examination revealed inflammatory infiltration sites of tuberculosis origin.

  10. No-go for tree-level R-symmetry breaking

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Feihu [University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Physical Electronics, Chengdu (China); Liu, Muyang [Sichuan University, Center for Theoretical Physics, College of Physical Science and Technology, Chengdu (China); Sun, Zheng [Sichuan University, Center for Theoretical Physics, College of Physical Science and Technology, Chengdu (China); Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Beijing (China)

    2017-11-15

    We show that in gauge mediation models with tree-level R-symmetry breaking where supersymmetry and R-symmetries are broken by different fields, the gaugino mass either vanishes at one loop or finds a contribution from loop-level R-symmetry breaking. Thus tree-level R-symmetry breaking for phenomenology is either no-go or redundant in the simplest type of models. Including explicit messenger mass terms in the superpotential with a particular R-charge arrangement is helpful to bypass the no-go theorem, and the resulting gaugino mass is suppressed by the messenger mass scale. (orig.)

  11. The experimental investigation of supersymmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peskin, M.E.

    1996-04-01

    If Nature is supersymmetric at the weak interaction scale, what can we hope to learn from experiments on supersymmetric particles? The most mysterious aspect of phenomenological supersymmetry is the mechanism of spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. This mechanism ties the observable pattern of supersymmetric particle masses to aspects of the underlying unified theory at very small distance scales. In this article, I will discuss a systematic experimental program to determine the mechanism of supersymmetry breaking. Both pp and e + e - colliders of the next generation play an essential role

  12. Temporary core liquid level depression during cold-leg small-break LOCA effect of break size and power level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koizumi, Y.; Kumamaru, H.; Mimura, Y.; Kukita, Y.; Tasaka, K.

    1989-01-01

    Cold-leg small break LOCA experiments (0.5-10% break) were conducted at the large scale test facility (LSTF), a volumetrically-scaled (1/48) simulator of a PWR, of the ROSA-IV Program. When a break area was less than 2.5% of the scaled cold-leg flow area, the core liquid level was temporarily further depressed to the bottom elevation of the crossover leg during the loop seal clearing early in the transient only by the manometric pressure balance since no coolant remained in the upper portion of the primary system. When the break size was larger than 5%, the core liquid level was temporarily further depressed lower than the bottom elevation of the crossover leg during the loop seal clearing since coolant remained at the upper portion of the primary system; the steam generator (SG) U-tube upflow side and the SG inlet plenum, due to counter current flow limiting by updrafting steam while the coolant drained. The amount of coolant trapped there was dependent on the vapor velocity (core power); the larger the core power, the lower the minimum core liquid level. The RELAP5/MOD2 code reasonable predicted phenomena observed in the experiments. (orig./DG)

  13. Cytomegalovirus-associated colitis mimicking necrotizing enterocolitis – A near miss diagnosis of neonatal colonic stricture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fanny Yeung

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Although cytomegalovirus (CMV is a common congenital infection in neonates, most patients are asymptomatic. Gastrointestinal manifestation is unusual. In this report, we described a newborn with perinatal CMV infection presented with symptoms mimicking necrotizing enterocolitis. We hope to alert clinicians about this possible diagnosis when managing newborn gastrointestinal diseases.

  14. Attributing Changing Rates of Temperature Record Breaking to Anthropogenic Influences

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Andrew D.

    2017-11-01

    Record-breaking temperatures attract attention from the media, so understanding how and why the rate of record breaking is changing may be useful in communicating the effects of climate change. A simple methodology designed for estimating the anthropogenic influence on rates of record breaking in a given time series is proposed here. The frequency of hot and cold record-breaking temperature occurrences is shown to be changing due to the anthropogenic influence on the climate. Using ensembles of model simulations with and without human-induced forcings, it is demonstrated that the effect of climate change on global record-breaking temperatures can be detected as far back as the 1930s. On local scales, a climate change signal is detected more recently at most locations. The anthropogenic influence on the increased occurrence of hot record-breaking temperatures is clearer than it is for the decreased occurrence of cold records. The approach proposed here could be applied in rapid attribution studies of record extremes to quantify the influence of climate change on the rate of record breaking in addition to the climate anomaly being studied. This application is demonstrated for the global temperature record of 2016 and the Central England temperature record in 2014.

  15. Modelling and testing the molecular mechanism of radiation-induced chromatid breaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryant, P. E.

    2001-01-01

    Chromatid breaks induced by ionizing radiation in the G2 phase of the cell cycle are considered as markers of individual human radiosensitivity and may indicate the presence of low-penetrance genes regulating susceptibility to breast and other cancers). Together with our own study of Scottish (Tayside) breast cancer patients and a group of normal controls these studies show an overall 10-fold variation in chromatid break frequency (the parameter defining individual chromosomal 'radiosensitivity'). Thus, an understanding of the mechanisms and genes involved in determining these widely different responses should help to clarify the reasons for individual radiosensitivity and may lead us to identify key genes involved in cancer susceptibility. The presence of colour-switches at around 16% of chromatid break points (detected in harlequin-stained chromosomes) indicates that this type of chromatid break is formed by a chromatin rearrangement involving one or more large chromatin domains of the order of 3 - 5 Mbp, possibly representing transcription 'factories'. The signal model of chromatid breaks assumes that all chromatid breaks are the result of chromatin rearrangements, and that the initiating DNA double-strand break (dsb) is itself not involved in the rearrangement but signals its presence (possibly via ATM protein or DNAPK) leading to the initiation of the chromatin rearrangement. Experimental evidence from radiosensitive cell lines (e.g. human AT and hamster irs2) and with the nucleoside analogue araA (9-β-D-arabinofuranosyladenine) demonstrates the lack of correspondence between the rejoining kinetics of dsb and that of disappearance of chromatid breaks, thus supporting the signal model. Coupled with the linear induction of chromatid breaks with dose in both human and rodent cell lines of various types, and the production of chromatid breaks by single dsb in genetically engineered cell lines the classical 'breakage-first' model of chromatid breaks is no longer

  16. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE SNOWMASS 2001 WORKING GROUP : ELECTROWEAK SYMMETRY BREAKING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    CARENA, M.; GERDES, D.W.; HABER, H.E.; TURCOT, A.S.; ZERWAS, P.M.

    2001-01-01

    In this summary report of the 2001 Snowmass Electroweak Symmetry Breaking Working Group, the main candidates for theories of electroweak symmetry breaking are surveyed, and the criteria for distinguishing among the different approaches are discussed. The potential for observing electroweak symmetry breaking phenomena at the upgraded Tevatron and the LHC is described. We emphasize the importance of a high-luminosity e + e - linear collider for precision measurements to clarify the underlying electroweak symmetry breaking dynamics. Finally, we note the possible roles of the μ + μ - collider and VLHC for further elucidating the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking

  17. Spontaneous symmetry breaking in N=3 supergravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zinov'ev, Yu.M.

    1986-01-01

    The possibility of the spontaneous symmetry breaking without a cosmological term in N=3 supergravity is investigated. A new, dual version of N=3 supergravity - U(3)-supergravity is constructed. Such a theory is shown to admit a spontaneous supersymmetry breaking without a cosmological term and with three arbitrary scales, including partial super-Higgs effect N=3 → N=2 and N=3 → N=1

  18. Mimicking Bone - Chemical and Physical Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie C Cox

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available It is known that chemical and physical features of bone contribute to its functionality, reactivity and mechanical performance. This fundamental rationale underpins the author’s research strategy. This paper presents a summary of efforts to fabricate a synthetic structure, referred to as a scaffold, that both chemically and physical emulates the intricate structure of bone. An understanding of key features of bone tissue that contribute to its remarkable properties is presented as a background to this work. Novel work aimed at improving the understanding of the synthesis of a ceramic biomaterial, namely hydroxyapatite, that is chemically similar to bone mineral is discussed. A case study involving the manufacture of porous scaffolds by 3D printing is also presented. In summary, this article highlights a number of on-going challenges that multidisciplinary tissue engineers aim to solve to get one step closer to mimicking bone, which clinically could improve the quality of life for millions of people worldwide.    Photo credit: By Doc. RNDr. Josef Reischig, CSc. (Author's archive [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

  19. Smiles count but minutes matter: responses to classroom exercise breaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howie, Erin K; Newman-Norlund, Roger D; Pate, Russell R

    2014-09-01

    To determine the subjective responses of teachers and students to classroom exercise breaks, and how responses varied by duration. This mixed-methods experimental study included focus groups with teachers (N = 8) and 4(th)- and 5(th)-grade students (N = 96). Students participated in 5-, 10-, and 20-minute exercise breaks and 10 minutes of sedentary activity. In an additional exploratory analysis, video-tapes of each condition were coded and compared for positive affect. Students and teachers discussed multiple benefits, but teachers discussed barriers to implementing regular breaks of 5-minutes or more. Students exhibited higher positive affect during each exercise condition. Classroom exercise breaks are an enjoyable way to increase physical activity, but additional support may be needed to encourage teachers to implement breaks of 5 minutes or longer.

  20. Small molecules, inhibitors of DNA-PK, targeting DNA repair and beyond

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David eDavidson

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Many current chemotherapies function by damaging genomic DNA in rapidly dividing cells ultimately leading to cell death. This therapeutic approach differentially targets cancer cells that generally display rapid cell division compared to normal tissue cells. However, although these treatments are initially effective in arresting tumor growth and reducing tumor burden, resistance and disease progression eventually occur. A major mechanism underlying this resistance is increased levels of cellular DNA repair. Most cells have complex mechanisms in place to repair DNA damage that occurs due to environmental exposures or normal metabolic processes. These systems, initially overwhelmed when faced with chemotherapy induced DNA damage, become more efficient under constant selective pressure and as a result chemotherapies become less effective. Thus, inhibiting DNA repair pathways using target specific small molecule inhibitors may overcome cellular resistance to DNA damaging chemotherapies. Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ a major mechanism for the repair of double strand breaks (DSB in DNA is regulated in part by the serine/threonine kinase, DNA dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK. The DNA-PK holoenzyme acts as a scaffold protein tethering broken DNA ends and recruiting other repair molecules. It also has enzymatic activity that may be involved in DNA damage signaling. Because of its’ central role in repair of DSBs, DNA-PK has been the focus of a number of small molecule studies. In these studies specific DNA-PK inhibitors have shown efficacy in synergizing chemotherapies in vitro. However, compounds currently known to specifically inhibit DNA-PK are limited by poor pharmacokinetics: these compounds have poor solubility and have high metabolic lability in vivo leading to short serum half-lives. Future improvement in DNA-PK inhibition will likely be achieved by designing new molecules based on the recently reported crystallographic structure of DNA

  1. Adrenal Castleman's disease mimicking other adrenal neoplasms: A case report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong, Seung Baek; Lee, Nam Kyung; Kim, Suk; Han, Ga Jin; Ha, Hong Koo; Ku, Ja Yoon; Ahn, Sang Jeong; Lee, Chang Hun [Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-01-15

    We present a rare case of adrenal Castleman's disease with hyaline vascular type mimicking other adrenal neoplasms in a 65-year-old woman. Although rare, the hyaline vascular type of adrenal Castleman's disease should be included in the differential diagnosis if an adrenal mass shows a well-defined, highly enhancing solid adrenal mass with peripheral rim enhancement, multiple satellite lymph nodes, and peritoneal thickening around the dominant mass on computed tomography as shown in this patient.

  2. Common bile duct cancer with massive necrosis mimicking choledochal dilatation on CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyake, H.; Matsumoto, S.; Ueda, S.; Maeda, T.; Aikawa, H.; Mori, H.

    1991-01-01

    Carcinomas of the common bile duct are usually seen as dilatation of the bile duct proximal to a solid mass on CT. In the case reported here, the common bile duct cancer itself mimicked dilated common bile duct on CT because of massive necrosis. In a case of simulating dilated common bile duct on CT, and discrepancy between CT and ultrasonography or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, a common bile duct cancer with massive necrosis should be included in the differential diagnosis. (orig.)

  3. Interactions between protein molecules and the virus removal membrane surface: Effects of immunoglobulin G adsorption and conformational changes on filter performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamamoto, Ryo; Ito, Hidemi; Hirohara, Makoto; Chang, Ryongsok; Hongo-Hirasaki, Tomoko; Hayashi, Tomohiro

    2018-03-01

    Membrane fouling commonly occurs in all filter types during virus filtration in protein-based biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Mechanisms of decline in virus filter performance due to membrane fouling were investigated using a cellulose-based virus filter as a model membrane. Filter performance was critically dependent on solution conditions; specifically, ionic strength. To understand the interaction between immunoglobulin G (IgG) and cellulose, sensors coated with cellulose were fabricated for surface plasmon resonance and quartz crystal microbalance with energy dissipation measurements. The primary cause of flux decline appeared to be irreversible IgG adsorption on the surface of the virus filter membrane. In particular, post-adsorption conformational changes in the IgG molecules promoted further irreversible IgG adsorption, a finding that could not be adequately explained by DLVO theory. Analyses of adsorption and desorption and conformational changes in IgG molecules on cellulose surfaces mimicking cellulose-based virus removal membranes provide an effective approach for identifying ways of optimizing solution conditions to maximize virus filter performance. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:379-386, 2018. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  4. [Breaking bad news in oncology: the Belgian experience].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delevallez, F; Lienard, A; Gibon, A-S; Razavi, D

    2014-10-01

    Breaking bad news is a complex and frequent clinical task for physicians working in oncology. It can have a negative impact on patients and their relatives who are often present during breaking bad news consultations. Many factors influence how the delivery of bad news will be experienced especially the communication skills used by physicians. A three-phase process (post-delivery phase, delivery phase, pre-delivery phase) has been developed to help physician to handle this task more effectively. Communication skills and specific breaking bad news training programs are both necessary and effective. A recent study conducted in Belgium has shown their impact on the time allocated to each of the three phases of this process, on the communication skills used, on the inclusion of the relative in the consultation and on physicians' physiological arousal. These results underscore the importance of promoting intensive communication skills and breaking bad news training programs for health care professionals.

  5. Mind the Gap: Women in STEM Career Breaks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Mavriplis

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available There are two issues related to women and pathways to STEM careers. Recruitment to the field is one aspect. The second issue is the retention of women in STEM fields. This paper reports on the structured interviews with 14 women who have taken career breaks sometime after receiving their PhD in order to understand the pressures in place to take such breaks, how women remain connected (or not to their field during the break and issues related to re-entering the field after a career break. Suggestions based on the interviews include enhancements for women’s preparation for STEM fields and changes to the STEM culture itself. We suggest the inclusion workshops to detail what they might expect in their career and a provision for networking opportunities. We urge changes in the fee structure for society membership, differences in how resumes are reviewed as well as changes in maternity and child care leave.

  6. Comparison between pulsed-field and constant-field gel electrophoresis for measurement of DNA double-strand breaks in irradiated Chinese hamster ovary cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wlodek, D.; Banath, J.; Olive, P.L.

    1991-01-01

    Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is one of the most sensitive methods for detecting DNA double-strand breaks in mammalian cells. However, it has been observed that constant-field gel electrophoresis (CFGE), when optimized, can detect breaks with equal efficiency. The migration of DNA from the well and the separation of DNA molecules according to size appear to be different processes; only the latter requires the application of PFGE. CFGE is very sensitive and can detect DNA damage produced by less than 5Gy of radiation. Low voltage (ca.0.6V/cm) during electrophoresis appears to be essential for the migration of the largest fraction of DNA from the agarose plug containing the cells; the electrophoresis run time, cell density in the plug, agarose concentration, nature of detergent and extent of radiolabelling are less important. It is concluded that CFGE is equally sensitive but more rapid and economical than PFGE for the measurement of DNA damage. (author)

  7. Physics of chiral symmetry breaking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shuryak, E.V.

    1991-01-01

    This subsection of the 'Modeling QCD' Workshop has included five talks. E. Shuryak spoke on 'Recent Progress in Understanding Chiral Symmetry Breaking'; below it is split into two parts: (i) a mini-review of the field and (ii) a brief presentation of the status of the theory of interacting instantons. The next sections correspond to the following talks: (iii) K. Goeke et al., 'Chiral Restoration and Medium Corrections to Nucleon in the NJL Model'; (iv) M. Takizawa and K. Kubodera, 'Study of Meson Properties and Quark Condensates in the NJL Model with Instanton Effects'; (v) G. Klein and A. G. Williams, 'Dynamical Chiral Symmetry Breaking in Dual QCD'; and (vi) R. D. Ball, 'Skyrmions and Baryons.' (orig.)

  8. Electroweak symmetry breaking: Higgs/whatever

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chanowitz, M.S.

    1989-01-01

    In the first of these two lectures the Higgs mechanism is reviewed in its most general form, which does not necessarily require the existence of Higgs bosons. The general consequences of the hypothesis that electroweak symmetry breaking is due to the Higgs mechanism are deduced just from gauge invariance and unitarity. In the second lecture the general properties are illustrated with three specific models: the Weinberg-Salam model, its minimal supersymmetric extension, and technicolor. The second lecture concludes with a discussion of the experiment signals for strong WW scattering, whose presence or absence will allow us to determine whether the symmetry breaking sector lies above or below 1 TeV. 57 refs

  9. On the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters in gauge-mediated models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, C.E.M.

    1998-01-01

    Gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking in the observable sector is an attractive idea, which naturally alleviates the flavor changing neutral current problem of supersymmetric theories. Quite generally, however, the number and quantum number of the messengers are not known; nor is their characteristic mass scale determined by the theory. Using the recently proposed method to extract supersymmetry-breaking parameters from wave-function renormalization, we derived general formulae for the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters in the observable sector, valid in the small and moderate tan β regimes, for the case of split messengers. The full leading-order effects of top Yukawa and gauge couplings on the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are included. We give a simple interpretation of the general formulae in terms of the renormalization group evolution of the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters. As a by-product of this analysis, the one-loop renormalization group evolution of the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters is obtained for arbitrary boundary conditions of the scalar and gaugino mass parameters at high energies. (orig.)

  10. TALEN-Induced Double-Strand Break Repair of CTG Trinucleotide Repeats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentine Mosbach

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Trinucleotide repeat expansions involving CTG/CAG triplets are responsible for several neurodegenerative disorders, including myotonic dystrophy and Huntington’s disease. Because expansions trigger the disease, contracting repeat length could be a possible approach to gene therapy for these disorders. Here, we show that a TALEN-induced double-strand break was very efficient at contracting expanded CTG repeats in yeast. We show that RAD51, POL32, and DNL4 are dispensable for double-strand break repair within CTG repeats, the only required genes being RAD50, SAE2, and RAD52. Resection was totally abolished in the absence of RAD50 on both sides of the break, whereas it was reduced in a sae2Δ mutant on the side of the break containing the longest repeat tract, suggesting that secondary structures at double-strand break ends must be removed by the Mre11-Rad50 complex and Sae2. Following the TALEN double-strand break, single-strand annealing occurred between both sides of the repeat tract, leading to repeat contraction.

  11. [Factors related to intraoperative retinal breaks in macular hole surgery].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumagai, K; Ogino, N; Demizu, S; Atsumi, K; Kurihara, H; Iwaki, M; Ishigooka, H; Tachi, N

    2001-02-01

    To evaluate the factors of intraoperative retinal breaks in macular hole surgery. This study included 558 eyes of 506 patients who underwent idiopathic macular hole surgery by one surgeon. Multiple regression was performed using the variables of gender, age, affected eye, lens status, stage, duration of symptoms, hole size, axial length, and lattice degeneration. The rate of retinal breaks was higher in stage 3 (16.0%) than in stage 4 (8.2%) (p = 0.014). In eyes with lattice degeneration intraoperative retinal breaks occurred in about 40% of the cases. Major factors were as follows: lattice degeneration (r = 0.24, p lattice degeneration, and gender (r = -0.18, p = 0.035) in eyes of stage 4 without lattice degeneration. The factors of intraoperative retinal breaks in macular hole surgery were lattice degeneration in all eyes and stage 3 in eyes without lattice degeneration. The high incidence of intraoperative retinal breaks in stage 3 was mainly due to the occurrence of posterior vitreous detachment. Male gender was a significant factor associated with intraoperative retinal breaks.

  12. A Review of Current Evidence of Olmesartan Medoxomil Mimicking Symptoms of Celiac Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanford, Michele L; Nagel, Angela K

    2015-04-01

    Objective:To review the evidence of an association between olmesartan medoxomil and symptoms mimicking celiac disease.Data Sources:Literature was searched in PubMed (1965-November 2013) using the key words or MeSH terms olmesartan, enteropathy, celiac disease, sprue, and diarrhea. References from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Dipiro's Pharmacotherapy eighth edition textbook were also reviewed.Data Synthesis:There have been recent implications of olmesartan medoxomil being linked to symptoms mimicking celiac disease. Investigators first identified the association in 22 patients who presented with presumed refractory celiac disease. Upon further evaluation, it was discovered that these symptoms improved when olmesartan was discontinued. In response to this report, additional case studies have been published. DeGaetani et al also further analyzed patients with seronegative villous atrophy from the Celiac Disease Center and found that olmesartan accounted for 22% of previously unclassified sprue cases. Conversely, the authors of the ROADMAP trial, which compared olmesartan to placebo, found no significant differences in the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse effects.Conclusions:There is growing evidence supporting the association between olmesartan and sprue-like symptoms; however, further research is warranted. These symptoms can be life threatening and clinicians should be aware of the potential association.

  13. Break-up stage restoration in multifragmentation reactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raduta, Ad.R. [Institut de Physique Nucleaire, IN2P3-CNRS, F-91406 Orsay cedex (France)]|[NIPNE, Bucharest-Magurele, POB-MG 6 (Romania); Bonnet, E.; Borderie, B.; Le Neindre, N.; Rivet, M.F. [Institut de Physique Nucleaire, IN2P3-CNRS, F-91406 Orsay cedex (France); Piantelli, S. [Dip. di Fisica e Sezione INFN, Universita di Firenze, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Fi (Italy)

    2007-02-15

    In the case of Xe+Sn at 32 MeV/nucleon multifragmentation reaction break-up fragments are built-up from the experimentally detected ones using evaluations of light particle evaporation multiplicities which thus settle fragment internal excitation. Freeze-out characteristics are extracted from experimental kinetic energy spectra under the assumption of full decoupling between fragment formation and energy dissipated in different degrees of freedom. Thermal kinetic energy is determined uniquely while for freeze-out volume - collective energy a multiple solution is obtained. Coherence between the solutions of the break-up restoration algorithm and the predictions of a multifragmentation model with identical definition of primary fragments is regarded as a way to select the true value. The broad kinetic energy spectrum of {sup 3}He is consistent with break-up genesis of this isotope. (authors)

  14. Break-up stage restoration in multifragmentation reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raduta, Ad.R.; Bonnet, E.; Borderie, B.; Le Neindre, N.; Rivet, M.F.; Piantelli, S.

    2007-02-01

    In the case of Xe+Sn at 32 MeV/nucleon multifragmentation reaction break-up fragments are built-up from the experimentally detected ones using evaluations of light particle evaporation multiplicities which thus settle fragment internal excitation. Freeze-out characteristics are extracted from experimental kinetic energy spectra under the assumption of full decoupling between fragment formation and energy dissipated in different degrees of freedom. Thermal kinetic energy is determined uniquely while for freeze-out volume - collective energy a multiple solution is obtained. Coherence between the solutions of the break-up restoration algorithm and the predictions of a multifragmentation model with identical definition of primary fragments is regarded as a way to select the true value. The broad kinetic energy spectrum of 3 He is consistent with break-up genesis of this isotope. (authors)

  15. Ionizing radiation damage to the folded chromosome of Escherichia coli K-12: repair of double-strand breaks in deoxyribonucleic acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ulmer, M.K.; Gomez, R.F.; Sinskevy, A.J.

    1979-01-01

    The extremely gentle lysis and unfolding procedures that have been developed for the isolation of nucleoid deoxyribonucleic acid yield undamaged, replicating genomes, thus permitting direct measurement of the formation and repair of DNA double-strand breaks at biologically significant doses of ionizing radiation. Repair of ionizing radiation damage to folded chromosomes of Escherichia coli K-12 strain AB2497 was observed within 2 to 3 h of post-irradiation incubation in growth medium. Such behavior was not observed after post-irradiation incubation in growth medium of a recA13 strain (strain AB2487). A model based on recombinational repair is proposed to explain the formation of 2,200 to 2,300S material during early stages of incubation and to explain subsequent changes in the gradient profiles. Association of unrepaired DNA with the plasma membrane is proposed to explain the formation of a peak of rapidly sedimenting material (greater than 3,100S) during the later stage of repair. Direct evidence of repair of double-strand breaks during post-irradiation incubation in growth medium was obtained from gradient profiles of DNA from ribonuclease-digested chromosomes. The sedimentation coefficient of broken molecules was restored to the value of unirradiated DNA after 2 to 3 h of incubation, and the fraction of the DNA repaired in this fashion was equal to the fraction of cells that survived at the same dose. An average of 2.7 double-strand breaks per genome per lethal event was observed, suggesting that one to two double-strand breaks per genome are repairable in E. coli K-12 strain AB2497

  16. Towards a Decision Making Model for City Break Travel

    OpenAIRE

    Dunne, Gerard; Flanagan, Sheila; Buckley, Joan

    2011-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the city break travel decision and in particular to develop a decision making model that reflects the characteristics of this type of trip taking. Method The research follows a sequential mixed methods approach consisting of two phases. Phase One involves a quantitative survey of 1,000 visitors to Dublin, from which city break and non city break visitor cohorts are separated and compared. Phase Two entails a qualitative analysis (involvin...

  17. Supersymmetry breaking at finite temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kratzert, K.

    2002-11-01

    The mechanism of supersymmetry breaking at finite temperature is still only partly understood. Though it has been proven that temperature always breaks supersymmetry, the spontaneous nature of this breaking remains unclear, in particular the role of the Goldstone fermion. The aim of this work is to unify two existing approaches to the subject. From a hydrodynamic point of view, it has been argued under very general assumptions that in any supersymmetric quantum field theory at finite temperature there should exist a massless fermionic collective excitation, named phonino because of the analogy to the phonon. In the framework of a self-consistent resummed perturbation theory, it is shown for the example of the Wess-Zumino model that this mode fits very well into the quantum field theoretical framework pursued by earlier works. Interpreted as a bound state of boson and fermion, it contributes to the supersymmetric Ward-Takahashi identities in a way showing that supersymmetry is indeed broken spontaneously with the phonino playing the role of the Goldstone fermion. The second part of the work addresses the case of supersymmetric quantum electrodynamics. It is shown that also here the phonino exists and must be interpreted as the Goldstone mode. This knowledge allows a generalization to a wider class of models. (orig.)

  18. Breaking News as Radicalisation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hartley, Jannie Møller

    The aim of the paper is to make explicit how the different categories are applied in the online newsroom and thus how new categories can be seen as positioning strategies in the form of radicalisations of already existing categories. Thus field theory provides us with tools to analyse how online...... journalists are using the categorisations to create hierarchies within the journalistic field in order to position themselves as specialists in what Tuchman has called developing news, aiming and striving for what today is know as breaking news and the “exclusive scoop,” as the trademark of online journalism...... in a media environment where immediacy rules (Domingo 2008a). Following this research the primary focus of this paper is the category breaking news and Tuchmans developing news, but as they are all connected the analysis will also draw upon the other categories in Tuchmans typology. The theoretical framework...

  19. Dam Break Analysis of Embankment Dams Considering Breach Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abolfazl Shamsaei

    2004-05-01

    Full Text Available The study of dam's break, needs the definition of various parameters such as the break cause, its type, its dimension and the duration of breach development. The precise forecast for different aspects of the breach is one of the most important factors for analyzing it in embankment dam. The characteristics of the breach and determination of their vulnerability has the most effect on the waves resulting from dam break. Investigating, about the parameters of the breach in "Silveh" earth dam have been determined using the suitable model. In Silve dam a trapezoid breach with side slope z=0.01m and the average base line b=80m was computed. The duration of the breaches development is 1.9 hour. Regarding the above results and the application of DAM Break software the consequences of the probable break of the dam was determined. The analysis of the results of water covering of the city of Piranshahr located 12km from silve dam confirms that in 3 hours the water will reach the height (level of 1425 meters.

  20. Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1 Encephalitis Mimicking Glioblastoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burke A. Cunha

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM often presents as a brain mass with encephalitis. In a patient with GBM, subsequent presentation with new onset encephalitis may be due to another GBM or Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1 encephalitis. We present a case of HSV-1 encephalitis mimicking GBM in a patient with previous GBM.