Effect of isospin dependent cross-section on fragment production in the collision of charge asymmetric nuclei

To understand the role of isospin effects on fragmentation due to the collisions of charge asymmetric nuclei, we have performed a complete systematical study using isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. Here simulations have been carried out for $^{124}X_{n}+ ^{124}X_{n}$, where n varies from 47 to 59 and for $^{40}Y_{m}+ ^{40}Y_{m}$, where m varies from 14 to 23. Our study shows that isospin dependent cross-section shows its influence on fragmentation in the collision of neutron rich nuclei

Immunocytochemical distribution of corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type-1 (CRF(1))-like immunoreactivity in the mouse brain: light microscopy analysis using an antibody directed against the C-terminus.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptor type 1 (CRF(1)) is a member of the receptor family mediating the effects of CRH, a critical neuromediator of stress-related endocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses. The detailed organization and fine localization of CRF(1)-like immunoreactivity (CRF(1)-LI) containing neurons in the rodent have not been described, and is important to better define the functions of this receptor. Here we characterize in detail the neuroanatomical distribution of CRF(1)-immunoreactive (CRF(1)-ir) neurons in the mouse brain, using an antiserum directed against the C-terminus of the receptor. We show that CRF(1)-LI is abundantly yet selectively expressed, and its localization generally overlaps the target regions of CRH-expressing projections and the established distribution of CRF(1) mRNA, with several intriguing exceptions. The most intensely CRF(1)-LI-labeled neurons are found in discrete neuronal systems, i.e., hypothalamic nuclei (paraventricular, supraoptic, and arcuate), major cholinergic and monoaminergic cell groups, and specific sensory relay and association thalamic nuclei. Pyramidal neurons in neocortex and magnocellular cells in basal amygdaloid nucleus are also intensely CRF(1)-ir. Finally, intense CRF(1)-LI is evident in brainstem auditory associated nuclei and several cranial nerves nuclei, as well as in cerebellar Purkinje cells. In addition to their regional specificity, CRF(1)-LI-labeled neurons are characterized by discrete patterns of the intracellular distribution of the immunoreaction product. While generally membrane associated, CRF(1)-LI may be classified as granular, punctate, or homogenous deposits, consistent with differential membrane localization. The selective distribution and morphological diversity of CRF(1)-ir neurons suggest that CRF(1) may mediate distinct functions in different regions of the mouse brain

Video enhancement using adaptive spatio-temporal connective filter and piecewise mapping

This paper presents a novel video enhancement system based on an adaptive spatio-temporal connective (ASTC) noise filter and an adaptive piecewise mapping function (APMF). For ill-exposed videos or those with much noise, we first introduce a novel local image statistic to identify impulse noise pixels, and then incorporate it into the classical bilateral filter to form ASTC, aiming to reduce the mixture of the most two common types of noises - Gaussian and impulse noises in spatial and temporal directions. After noise removal, we enhance the video contrast with APMF based on the statistical information of frame segmentation results. The experiment results demonstrate that, for diverse low-quality videos corrupted by mixed noise, underexposure, overexposure, or any mixture of the above, the proposed system can automatically produce satisfactory results

Serum microRNA array analysis identifies miR-140-3p, miR-33b-3p and miR-671-3p as potential osteoarthritis biomarkers involved in metabolic processes.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in circulation have emerged as promising biomarkers. In this study, we aimed to identify a circulating miRNA signature for osteoarthritis (OA) patients and in combination with bioinformatics analysis to evaluate the utility of selected differentially expressed miRNAs in the serum as potential OA biomarkers. Methods: Serum samples were collected from 12 primary OA patients, and 12 healthy individuals were screened using the Agilent Human miRNA Microarray platform interrogating 2549 miRNAs. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the deregulated miRNAs. Expression levels of selected miRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in all serum and in articular cartilage samples from OA patients (n = 12) and healthy individuals (n = 7). Bioinformatics analysis was used to investigate the involved pathways and target genes for the above miRNAs. Results: We identified 279 differentially expressed miRNAs in the serum of OA patients compared to controls. Two hundred and five miRNAs (73.5%) were upregulated and 74 (26.5%) downregulated. ROC analysis revealed that 77 miRNAs had area under the curve (AUC) > 0.8 and p < 0.05. Bioinformatics analysis in the 77 miRNAs revealed that their target genes were involved in multiple signaling pathways associated with OA, among which FoxO, mTOR, Wnt, pI3K/akt, TGF-β signaling pathways, ECM-receptor interaction, and fatty acid biosynthesis. qRT-PCR validation in seven selected out of the 77 miRNAs revealed 3 significantly downregulated miRNAs (hsa-miR-33b-3p, hsa-miR-671-3p, and hsa-miR-140-3p) in the serum of OA patients, which were in silico predicted to be enriched in pathways involved in metabolic processes. Target-gene analysis of hsa-miR-140-3p, hsa-miR-33b-3p, and hsa-miR-671-3p revealed that InsR and IGFR1 were common targets of all three miRNAs, highlighting their involvement in regulation of metabolic processes that contribute to OA pathology. Hsa-miR-140-3p and hsa-miR-671-3p expression levels were consistently downregulated in articular cartilage of OA patients compared to healthy individuals. Conclusions: A serum miRNA signature was established for the first time using high density resolution miR-arrays in OA patients. We identified a three-miRNA signature, hsa-miR-140-3p, hsa-miR-671-3p, and hsa-miR-33b-3p, in the serum of OA patients, predicted to regulate metabolic processes, which could serve as a potential biomarker for the evaluation of OA risk and progression.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Direct observation of a highly spin-polarized organic spinterface at room temperature

The design of large-scale electronic circuits that are entirely spintronics-driven requires a current source that is highly spin-polarised at and beyond room temperature, cheap to build, efficient at the nanoscale and straightforward to integrate with semiconductors. Yet despite research within several subfields spanning nearly two decades, this key building block is still lacking. We experimentally and theoretically show how the interface between Co and phthalocyanine molecules constitutes a promising candidate. Spin-polarised direct and inverse photoemission experiments reveal a high degree of spin polarisation at room temperature at this interface. We measured a magnetic moment on the molecules's nitrogen pi orbitals, which substantiates an ab-initio theoretical description of highly spin-polarised charge conduction across the interface due to differing spinterface formation mechanims in each spin channel. We propose, through this example, a recipe to engineer simple organic-inorganic interfaces with remarkable spintronic properties that can endure well above room temperature

Multi-step self-guided pathways for shape-changing metamaterials

Multi-step pathways, constituted of a sequence of reconfigurations, are central to a wide variety of natural and man-made systems. Such pathways autonomously execute in self-guided processes such as protein folding and self-assembly, but require external control in macroscopic mechanical systems, provided by, e.g., actuators in robotics or manual folding in origami. Here we introduce shape-changing mechanical metamaterials, that exhibit self-guided multi-step pathways in response to global uniform compression. Their design combines strongly nonlinear mechanical elements with a multimodal architecture that allows for a sequence of topological reconfigurations, i.e., modifications of the topology caused by the formation of internal self-contacts. We realized such metamaterials by digital manufacturing, and show that the pathway and final configuration can be controlled by rational design of the nonlinear mechanical elements. We furthermore demonstrate that self-contacts suppress pathway errors. Finally, we demonstrate how hierarchical architectures allow to extend the number of distinct reconfiguration steps. Our work establishes general principles for designing mechanical pathways, opening new avenues for self-folding media, pluripotent materials, and pliable devices in, e.g., stretchable electronics and soft robotics.Comment: 16 pages, 3 main figures, 10 extended data figures. See https://youtu.be/8m1QfkMFL0I for an explanatory vide

Higgs and Dark Matter Hints of an Oasis in the Desert

Recent LHC results suggest a standard model (SM)-like Higgs boson in the vicinity of 125 GeV with no clear indications yet of physics beyond the SM. At the same time, the SM is incomplete, since additional dynamics are required to accommodate cosmological dark matter (DM). In this paper we show that interactions between weak scale DM and the Higgs which are strong enough to yield a thermal relic abundance consistent with observation can easily destabilize the electroweak vacuum or drive the theory into a non-perturbative regime at a low scale. As a consequence, new physics--beyond the DM itself--must enter at a cutoff well below the Planck scale and in some cases as low as O(10 - 1000 TeV), a range relevant to indirect probes of flavor and CP violation. In addition, this cutoff is correlated with the DM mass and scattering cross-section in a parameter space which will be probed experimentally in the near term. Specifically, we consider the SM plus additional spin 0 or 1/2 states with singlet, triplet, or doublet electroweak quantum numbers and quartic or Yukawa couplings to the Higgs boson. We derive explicit expressions for the full two-loop RGEs and one-loop threshold corrections for these theories.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figure

Molecular Valves for Controlling Gas Phase Transport Made from Discrete Angstrom-Sized Pores in Graphene

An ability to precisely regulate the quantity and location of molecular flux is of value in applications such as nanoscale 3D printing, catalysis, and sensor design. Barrier materials containing pores with molecular dimensions have previously been used to manipulate molecular compositions in the gas phase, but have so far been unable to offer controlled gas transport through individual pores. Here, we show that gas flux through discrete angstrom-sized pores in monolayer graphene can be detected and then controlled using nanometer-sized gold clusters, which are formed on the surface of the graphene and can migrate and partially block a pore. In samples without gold clusters, we observe stochastic switching of the magnitude of the gas permeance, which we attribute to molecular rearrangements of the pore. Our molecular valves could be used, for example, to develop unique approaches to molecular synthesis that are based on the controllable switching of a molecular gas flux, reminiscent of ion channels in biological cell membranes and solid state nanopores.Comment: to appear in Nature Nanotechnolog

On Global Flipped SU(5) GUTs in F-theory

We construct an SU(4) spectral divisor and its factorization of types (3,1) and (2,2) based on the construction proposed in [1]. We calculate the chiral spectra of flipped SU(5) GUTs by using the spectral divisor construction. The results agree with those from the analysis of semi-local spectral covers. Our computations provide an example for the validity of the spectral divisor construction and suggest that the standard heterotic formulae are applicable to the case of F-theory on an elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfold with no heterotic dual.Comment: 45 pages, 12 tables, 1 figure; typos corrected, footnotes added, and a reference adde