On A New Formulation of Micro-phenomena: Basic Principles, Stationary Fields And Beyond

In a series of essays, beginning with this article, we are going to develop a new formulation of micro-phenomena based on the principles of reality and causality. The new theory provides with us a new depiction of micro-phenomena assuming an unified concept of information, matter and energy. So, we suppose that in a definite micro-physical context (including other interacting particles), each particle is enfolded by a probability field whose existence is contingent upon the existence of the particle, but it can locally affect the physical status of the particle in a context-dependent manner. The dynamics of the whole particle-field system obeys deterministic equations in a manner that when the particle is subjected to a conservative force, the field also experiences a conservative complex force which its form is determined by the dynamics of particle. So, the field is endowed with a given amount of energy, but its value is contingent upon the physical conditions the particle is subjected to. Based on the energy balance of the particle and its associated field, we argue why the field has a probabilistic objective nature. In such a way, the basic elements of this new formulation, its application for some stationary states and its nonlinear generalization for conservative systems are discussed here.Comment: 35 pages, 5 figures, 3 appendice

Down-regulatory effects of miR-211 on long non-coding RNA SOX2OT and SOX2 genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that transcriptionally or post-Transcriptionally regulate gene expression through degradation of their mRNA targets and/or translational suppression. However, there are a few reports on miRNA-mediated expression regulation of long ncRNAs (lncRNAs). We have previously reported a significant upregulation of the lncRNA SOX2OT and its intronic coding gene, SOX2, in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue samples. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of induced overexpression of miR-211 on SOX2OT and SOX2 expression in vitro. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, we performed both bioinformatic and experimental analyses to examine whether these transcripts are regulated by miRNAs. From the list of potential candidate miRNAs, miR-211 was found to have complementary sequences to SOX2OT and SOX2 transcripts. To validate our finding experimentally, we transfected the NT-2 pluripotent cell line (an embryonal carcinoma stem cell) with an expression vector overexpressing miR-211. The expression changes of miR-211, SOX2OT, and SOX2 were then quantified by a real-Time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) approach. Results: Compared with mock-Transfected cells, overexpression of miR-211 caused a significant down-regulation of both genes (P<0.05). Furthermore, flow-cytometry analysis revealed a significant elevation in sub-G1 cell population following ectopic expression of miR-211 in NT-2 cells. Conclusion: We report here, for the first time, the down-regulation of SOX2OT and SOX2 genes by an miRNA. Considering the vital role of SOX2OT and SOX2 genes in pluripotency and tumorigenesis, our data suggest an important and inhibitory role for miR-211 in the aforementioned processes

Eating soup with nails of pig: thematic synthesis of the qualitative literature on cultural practices and beliefs influencing perinatal nutrition in low and middle income countries.

BACKGROUND: The perinatal period, i.e. pregnancy, childbirth and early infancy, is a significant transition period where the biological and the social strongly intersect. In low and middle-income countries the disease burden arising from the perinatal period, is still substantial. The perinatal period is also a crucial window of opportunity for reducing undernutrition and its long term adverse effects. METHODS: We explored qualitative research conducted in low resource settings around the perinatal continuum over the past two decades, with a particular focus on the ‘cultural’ realm, to identify common themes influencing maternal and infant nutrition. We systematically searched electronic databases from 1990 to 2014, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Scopus and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, using relevant search terms including traditional beliefs, practices, pregnancy, childbirth, developing countries etc. Adapted Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Health Research and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme criteria were used to determine quality of studies. We synthesised the literature thematically, enabled by NVivo 10 software. RESULTS: Most studies showed cultural support for breastfeeding, although most traditional societies delayed breastfeeding due to colostrum being considered ‘dirty’. A range of restrictive practices through pregnancy and the post- partum period were revealed in Asia, Latin America and Africa. There was a strong cultural understanding of the healing power of everyday foods. A wide range of good foods and bad foods continued to have currency through the perinatal continuum, with little consensus between groups of what was beneficial versus harmful. Cross-cutting themes that emerged were 1) the role of the woman/mother/wife as strong and good; 2) poverty restricting women’s nutrition choices; 3) change being constant, but the direction of change unpredictable. CONCLUSIONS: A rich and diverse repertoire of cultural practices and beliefs influenced perinatal nutrition. Results from this synthesis should influence public health policymakers and practitioners, to tailor contextually specific, culturally responsive perinatal nutrition interventions to optimise health and wellbeing of mother-infant dyads. Ideally these interventions should build on culturally sanctioned life affirming behaviours such as breastfeeding, promoting post-partum rest and recovery, while modifying the potentially harmful aspects of other cultural practices in the perinatal period. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-016-0991-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Bell's Theorem and Chemical Potential

Chemical potential is a property which involves the effect of interaction between the components of a system, and it results from the whole system. In this paper, we argue that for two particles which have interacted via their spins and are now spatially separated, the so-called Bell's locality condition implies that the chemical potential of each particle is an individual property. Here is a point where quantum statistical mechanics and the local hidden variable theories are in conflict. Based on two distinct concepts of chemical potential, the two theories predict two different patterns for the energy levels of a system of two entangled particles. In this manner, we show how one can distinguish the non-separable features of a two-particle system.Comment: 11 pages,1 figure, To appear in J. Phy. A: Math. Gen., Special Issue: Foundations of Quantum Theor

Low temperature and cost-effective growth of vertically aligned carbon nanofibers using spin-coated polymer-stabilized palladium nanocatalysts

We describe a fast and cost-effective process for the growth of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) at a temperature compatible with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology, using highly stable polymer-Pd nanohybrid colloidal solutions of palladium catalyst nanoparticles (NPs). Two polymer-Pd nanohybrids, namely poly(lauryl methacrylate)-block-poly((2-acetoacetoxy) ethyl methacrylate)/Pd (LauMA(x)-b-AEMA(y)/Pd) and polyvinylpyrrolidone/Pd were prepared in organic solvents and spin-coated onto silicon substrates. Subsequently, vertically aligned CNFs were grown on these NPs by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at different temperatures. The electrical properties of the grown CNFs were evaluated using an electrochemical method, commonly used for the characterization of supercapacitors. The results show that the polymer-Pd nanohybrid solutions offer the optimum size range of palladium catalyst NPs enabling the growth of CNFs at temperatures as low as 350 degrees C. Furthermore, the CNFs grown at such a low temperature are vertically aligned similar to the CNFs grown at 550 degrees C. Finally the capacitive behavior of these CNFs was similar to that of the CNFs grown at high temperature assuring the same electrical properties thus enabling their usage in different applications such as on-chip capacitors, interconnects, thermal heat sink and energy storage solutions

Two novel splice variants of SOX2OT, SOX2OT-S1, and SOX2OT-S2 are coupregulated with SOX2 and OCT4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as new regulators of stem cell pluripotency and tumorigenesis. The SOX2 gene, a master regulator of pluripotency, is embedded within the third intron of a lncRNA known as SOX2 overlapping transcript (SOX2OT). SOX2OT has been suspected to participate in regulation of SOX2 expression and/or other related processes; nevertheless, its potential involvement in tumor initiation and/or progression is unclear. Here, we have evaluated a possible correlation between expression patterns of SOX2OT and those of master regulators of pluripotency, SOX2 and OCT4, in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue samples. We have also examined its potential function in the human embryonic carcinoma stem cell line, NTERA2 (NT2), which highly expresses SOX2OT, SOX2, and OCT4. Our data revealed a significant coupregulation of SOX2OT along with SOX2 and OCT4 in tumor samples, compared to the non-tumor tissues obtained from the margin of same tumors. We also identified two novel splice variants of SOX2OT (SOX2OT-S1 and SOX2OT-S2) which coupregulated with SOX2 and OCT4 in ESCCs. Suppressing SOX2OT variants caused a profound alteration in cell cycle distribution, including a 5.9 and 6.9 time increase in sub-G1 phase of cell cycle for SOX2OT-S1 and SOX2OT-S2, respectively. The expression of all variants was significantly diminished, upon the induction of neural differentiation in NT2 cells, suggesting their potential functional links to the undifferentiated state of the cells. Our data suggest a part for SOX2OT spliced variants in tumor initiation and/or progression as well as regulating pluripotent state of stem cells. © AlphaMed Press 2013

Plant extract enhances the viability of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Lactobacillus acidophilus in probiotic nonfat yogurt

Citation: Michael, M., Phebus, R. K., & Schmidt, K. A. (2015). Plant extract enhances the viability of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Lactobacillus acidophilus in probiotic nonfat yogurt. Food Science & Nutrition, 3(1), 48-55. doi:10.1002/fsn3.189A commercial plant extract (prepared from olive, garlic, onion and citrus extracts with sodium acetate (SA) as a carrier) was evaluated to extend the viability of yogurt starter and probiotic bacteria as a means to enhance the shelf life of live and active culture, probiotic nonfat yogurt. Yogurts prepared from three different formulas (0.5% plant extract, 0.25% SA, or no supplement) and cultures (yogurt starter plus Bifidobacterium animalis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, or both probiotics) were assessed weekly during 29 days of storage at 5 degrees C. Supplemented yogurt mixes had greater buffering capacities than non-supplemented yogurt mixes. At the end of storage, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and L. acidophilus counts in supplemented yogurts were greater compared with non-supplemented yogurts. Supplementation did not affect Streptococcus thermophilus and B. animalis counts. Hence the greater buffering capacity of yogurt containing plant extract could enhance the longevity of the probiotics, L. bulgaricus and L. acidophilus, during storage

Gas Barrier and Mechanical Properties of Crosslinked Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Nanocomposites

In this research, the effects of crosslinking agent and clay content on the morphology, barrier and mechanical properties of ethylene vinyl acetate-organoclay nanocomposites prepared by solution method were studied. Dicumyl peroxide has been used as crosslinking agent. The morphology of the prepared nanocomposites was investigated using wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the prepared nanocomposites had predominantly intercalated morphologies. The obtained results of permeability tests showed that the permeability of ethylene vinyl acetate films dramatically decreases with addition of organoclay and dicumyl peroxide. Mechanical tests showed that tensile modulus and tensile strength of ethylene vinyl acetate increase with addition of organoclay. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of ethylene vinyl acetate nanocomposites significantly improved in presence of crosslinking agent (dicumyl peroxide). © 2012 The Author(s)

Exploring the Edge Hyper-Zagreb Index of Graphs: Applications and Predictions of Thermodynamic Properties for Organic Linear Acenes Molecules

The paper discusses the edge hyper-Zagreb index of a graph, which is calculated by replacing vertex degrees with edge degrees. The degree of an edge is determined by adding up the degrees of the end vertices of the edge and subtracting 2. We examine the edge hyper-Zagreb index of the Cartesian product and join of graphs, and also calculate it for organic linear Acenes molecules with the formula (C4n+2H2n+4). We establish a correlation between topological indices based on the number of rings and predict thermodynamic properties of Acenes family, such as electron affinity, bond, heat of formation and gap energy, using the Topological Indices Method (T IM)