RR-band host galaxy contamination of TeV γ\gamma-ray blazar Mrk 501: effects of the aperture size and seeing

We simulated the $R$-band contribution of the host galaxy of TeV $\gamma$-ray BL Lac object Mrk 501 in different aperture sizes and seeing conditions . The intensive observations were run with the 1.02 m optical telescope at Yunnan Observatories from 2010 May 15 to 18. Based on the host subtraction data presented in Nilsson et al. (2007), the subtraction of host galaxy contamination results in significant seeing-brightness correlations. These correlations would lead to illusive large amplitude variations at short timescales, which will mask the intrinsic micro variability, thus gives rise to difficulty in detecting the intrinsic micro variability. Both aperture size and seeing condition influence the flux measurements, but aperture size impact the result more significantly. Based on the parameters of elliptical galaxy provided in Nilsson et al. (1999), we simulated the host contributions of Mrk 501 in the different aperture sizes and seeing conditions. Our simulation data of the host galaxy obviously weaken these significant seeing-brightness correlations for the host-subtracted brightness of Mrk 501, and can help us discover the intrinsic short timescale micro variability. The pure nuclear flux is $\sim$ 8.0 $\rm{mJy}$ in \emph{R} band, i.e., AGN has a magnitude of $R\sim13^{m}_{\cdot}96$.Comment: accepted for publication in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 8 figures, 6 table

Electronic Structures of Graphene Layers on Metal Foil: Effect of Point Defects

Here we report a facile method to generate a high density of point defects in graphene on metal foil and show how the point defects affect the electronic structures of graphene layers. Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements, complemented by first principle calculations, reveal that the point defects result in both the intervalley and intravalley scattering of graphene. The Fermi velocity is reduced in the vicinity area of the defect due to the enhanced scattering. Additionally, our analysis further points out that periodic point defects can tailor the electronic properties of graphene by introducing a significant bandgap, which opens an avenue towards all-graphene electronics.Comment: 4 figure

MicroRNA-483 amelioration of experimental pulmonary hypertension.

Endothelial dysfunction is critically involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and that exogenously administered microRNA may be of therapeutic benefit. Lower levels of miR-483 were found in serum from patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), particularly those with more severe disease. RNA-seq and bioinformatics analyses showed that miR-483 targets several PAH-related genes, including transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), TGF-β receptor 2 (TGFBR2), β-catenin, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and endothelin-1 (ET-1). Overexpression of miR-483 in ECs inhibited inflammatory and fibrogenic responses, revealed by the decreased expression of TGF-β, TGFBR2, β-catenin, CTGF, IL-1β, and ET-1. In contrast, inhibition of miR-483 increased these genes in ECs. Rats with EC-specific miR-483 overexpression exhibited ameliorated pulmonary hypertension (PH) and reduced right ventricular hypertrophy on challenge with monocrotaline (MCT) or Sugen + hypoxia. A reversal effect was observed in rats that received MCT with inhaled lentivirus overexpressing miR-483. These results indicate that PAH is associated with a reduced level of miR-483 and that miR-483 might reduce experimental PH by inhibition of multiple adverse responses

Charmless Three-Body Baryonic B Decays

Motivated by recent data on B-> p pbar K decay, we study various charmless three-body baryonic B decay modes, including Lambda pbar pi, Sigma0 pbar pi, p pbar pi, p pbar Kbar0, in a factorization approach. These modes have rates of order 10^{-6}. There are two mechanisms for the baryon pair production, current-produced and transition. The behavior of decay spectra from these baryon production mechanisms can be understood by using QCD counting rules. Predictions on rates and decay spectra can be checked in the near future.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures; version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Stop the Top Background of the Stop Search

The main background for the supersymmetric stop direct production search comes from Standard Model ttbar events. For the single-lepton search channel, we introduce a few kinematic variables to further suppress this background by focusing on its dileptonic and semileptonic topologies. All are defined to have end points in the background, but not signal distributions. They can substantially improve the stop signal significance and mass reach when combined with traditional kinematic variables such as the total missing transverse energy. Among them, our variable M^W_T2 has the best overall performance because it uses all available kinematic information, including the on-shell mass of both W's. We see 20%-30% improvement on the discovery significance and estimate that the 8 TeV LHC run with 20 fb-1 of data would be able to reach an exclusion limit of 650-700 GeV for direct stop production, as long as the stop decays dominantly to the top quark and a light stable neutralino. Most of the mass range required for the supersymmetric solution of the naturalness problem in the standard scenario can be covered.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Tuberculosis burden in China: a high prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in household contacts with and without symptoms

Background: In the context of decreasing tuberculosis prevalence in China, we examined the effectiveness of screening household contacts of tuberculosis patients. Methods: A tuberculosis survey was conducted in 2008. All 3,355 household contacts of notified tuberculosis cases were examined with a questionnaire interview, chest X-ray and three sputum smear tests. The effectiveness was examined by comparing the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in household contacts with or without presenting clinical symptoms against the respective notification rates. Regression models were used to evaluate the factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. Results: Of the 3,355 household contacts, 92 members (2.7%) had pulmonary tuberculosis, among which 46 cases were asymptomatic. The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis and smear positive cases in household contacts without symptoms were 20 and 7 times higher than the notification rates in 2008, while those in household contacts with symptoms were 247 and 108 times higher than notification rates, respectively. The patients detected were mainly Index Cases’ spouses, sisters/brothers and those who were in contact with female Index Cases. Conclusions: The present study provides convincing evidence that household contacts of notified tuberculosis cases are at higher risk of developing tuberculosis. Routine screening for household contacts without any symptoms is recommended for sustained tuberculosis control in China as well as in the world

Roll-Coated Fabrication of Fullerene-Free Organic Solar Cells with Improved Stability

NSFC [91433114, 51261130582, 21025418]; 973 Program [2011CB808401]; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Danish National Research FoundationSCI(E)[email protected]; [email protected]

3, 4-dihydroxyl-phenyl lactic acid restores NADH dehydrogenase 1 α subunit 10 to ameliorate cardiac reperfusion injury.

The present study aimed to detect the role of 3, 4-dihydroxyl-phenyl lactic acid (DLA) during ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) induced myocardial injury with emphasis on the underlying mechanism of DLA antioxidant. Male Spragu-Dawley (SD) rats were subjected to left descending artery occlusion followed by reperfusion. Treatment with DLA ameliorated myocardial structure and function disorder, blunted the impairment of Complex I activity and mitochondrial function after I/R. The results of 2-D fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis revealed that DLA prevented the decrease in NDUFA10 expression, one of the subunits of Complex I. To find the target of DLA, the binding affinity of Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) to DLA and DLA derivatives with replaced two phenolic hydroxyls was detected using surface plasmon resonance and bilayer interferometry. The results showed that DLA could activate SIRT1 after I/R probably by binding to this protein, depending on phenolic hydroxyl. Moreover, the importance of SIRT1 to DLA effectiveness was confirmed through siRNA transfection in vitro. These results demonstrated that DLA was able to prevent I/R induced decrease in NDUFA10 expression, improve Complex I activity and mitochondrial function, eventually attenuate cardiac structure and function injury after I/R, which was possibly related to its ability of binding to and activating SIRT1

The CDEX-1 1 kg Point-Contact Germanium Detector for Low Mass Dark Matter Searches

The CDEX Collaboration has been established for direct detection of light dark matter particles, using ultra-low energy threshold p-type point-contact germanium detectors, in China JinPing underground Laboratory (CJPL). The first 1 kg point-contact germanium detector with a sub-keV energy threshold has been tested in a passive shielding system located in CJPL. The outputs from both the point-contact p+ electrode and the outside n+ electrode make it possible to scan the lower energy range of less than 1 keV and at the same time to detect the higher energy range up to 3 MeV. The outputs from both p+ and n+ electrode may also provide a more powerful method for signal discrimination for dark matter experiment. Some key parameters, including energy resolution, dead time, decay times of internal X-rays, and system stability, have been tested and measured. The results show that the 1 kg point-contact germanium detector, together with its shielding system and electronics, can run smoothly with good performances. This detector system will be deployed for dark matter search experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure