Regulation of prokineticin 2 expression by light and the circadian clock

Background  

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) contains the master circadian clock that regulates daily rhythms of many physiological and behavioural processes in mammals. Previously we have shown that prokineticin 2 (PK2) is a clock-controlled gene that may function as a critical SCN output molecule responsible for circadian locomotor rhythms. As light is the principal zeitgeber that entrains the circadian oscillator, and PK2 expression is responsive to nocturnal light pulses, we further investigated the effects of light on the molecular rhythm of PK2 in the SCN. In particular, we examined how PK2 responds to shifts of light/dark cycles and changes in photoperiod. We also investigated which photoreceptors are responsible for the light-induced PK2 expression in the SCN. To determine whether light requires an intact functional circadian pacemaker to regulate PK2, we examined PK2 expression in cryptochrome1,2-deficient (Cry1-/-Cry2-/-) mice that lack functional circadian clock under normal light/dark cycles and constant darkness.     

Enhanced direct sunlight photocatalytic oxidation of methanol using nanocrystalline TiO2 calcined at different temperature

The pharmacokinetics (PK) of carrier-mediated agents (CMA) is dependent upon the carrier system. As a result, CMA PK differs greatly from the PK of small molecule (SM) drugs. Advantages of CMAs over SMs include prolonged circulation time in plasma, increased delivery to tumors, increased antitumor response, and decreased toxicity. In theory, CMAs provide greater tumor drug delivery than SMs due to their prolonged plasma circulation time. We sought to create a novel PK metric to evaluate the efficiency of tumor and tissue delivery of CMAs and SMs. We conducted a study evaluating the plasma, tumor, liver, and spleen PK of CMAs and SMs in mice bearing subcutaneous flank tumors using standard PK parameters and a novel PK metric entitled relative distribution over time (RDI-OT), which measures efficiency of delivery. RDI-OT is defined as the ratio of tissue drug concentration to plasma drug concentration at each time point. The standard concentration versus time area under the curve values (AUC) of CMAs were higher in all tissues and plasma compared with SMs. However, 8 of 17 SMs had greater tumor RDI-OT AUC_0–last values than their CMA comparators and all SMs had greater tumor RDI-OT AUC_0–6 h values than their CMA comparators. Our results indicate that in mice bearing flank tumor xenografts, SMs distribute into tumor more efficiently than CMAs. Further research in additional tumor models that may more closely resemble tumors seen in patients is needed to determine if our results are consistent in different model systems.     

Fracture mechanics of propagating 3-D fatigue cracks with parametric dislocations

Abstract

Propagation of 3-D fatigue cracks is analyzed using a discrete dislocation representation of the crack opening displacement. Three dimensional cracks are represented with Volterra dislocation loops in equilibrium with the applied external load. The stress intensity factor (SIF) is calculated using the Peach–Koehler (PK) force acting on the crack tip dislocation loop. Loading mode decomposition of the SIF is achieved by selection of Burgers vector components to correspond to each fracture mode in the PK force calculations. The interaction between 3-D cracks and free surfaces is taken into account through application of the superposition principle. A boundary integral solution of an elasticity problem in a finite domain is superposed onto the elastic field solution of the discrete dislocation method in an infinite medium. The numerical accuracy of the SIF is ascertained by comparison with known analytical solution of a 3-D crack problem in pure mode I, and for mixed-mode loading. Finally, fatigue crack growth simulations are performed with the Paris law, showing that 3-D cracks do not propagate in a self-similar shape, but they re-configure as a result of their interaction with external boundaries. A specific numerical example of fatigue crack growth is presented to demonstrate the utility of the developed method for studies of 3-D crack growth during fatigue.     

Magnetic moments of <Superscript>33</Superscript>Mg in the time-odd relativistic mean field approach

The configuration-fixed deformation constrained relativistic mean field approach with time-odd component has been applied to investigate the ground state properties of 33Mg with effective interaction PK1.The ground state of 33Mg has been found to be prolate deformed,β2=0.23,with the odd neutron in 1/2[330] orbital and the energy -251.85 MeV which is close to the data -252.06 MeV.The magnetic moment -0.9134 μN is obtained with the effective electromagnetic current which well reproduces the data -0.7456 μN se...     

Configurational probabilities of spinel octahedral site clusters

Graphs are presented from which one can read directly the probability that in octahedral sites of the spinel lattice (containing two types of atomsC andD randomly distributed over the octahedral sites) a typeD atom will be in a cluster of one, two, three or fourD atoms. The results are presented as a function of the concentration ofD atoms in octahedral sites.     

A control method for congested traffic in the coupled map car-following model

Based on the pioneer work of Konishi et al, a new control method is presented to suppress the traffic congestion in the coupled map (CM) car-following model under an open boundary. A control signal concluding the velocity differences of the two vehicles in front is put forward. The condition under which the traffic jam can be contained is analyzed. The results are compared with that presented by Konishi et al [Phys. Rev. 1999 E 60 4000--4007]. The simulation results show that the temporal behavior obtained by our method is better than that by the Konishi's et al. method, although both the methods could suppress the traffic jam. The simulation results are consistent with the theoretical analysis.     

Hyperspherical calculation for electron hydrogen atom ionization collisions in a symmetric form

The hyperspherical partial wave method (Das [7]) has been presented here in a symmetric form so that effects of coupling among different partial waves may be included in a systematic way. It is also outlined here how to solve the relevant coupled set of radial wave equations numerically. Some preliminary results are presented forS, P andD waves in the low energy domain of 30–50 eV for the incident electron. In this calculation only two important partial waves are included in each channel. The results are compared with experimental ones and appear very encouraging.     

Regular measures and inner product spaces

We present some results concerning the properties of regular finitely additive measures on the set of all splitting subspaces of a (real or complex) inner product spaceS and their relation to completeness ofS. These results are generalized for abstract quadratic spaces to be orthomodular. Moreover, some open problems are presented.     

Approximate solutions of Schrdinger equation for Eckart potential with centrifugal term

The approximate analytical solutions of the Schrdinger equation for the Eckart potential are presented for the arbitrary angular momentum by using a new approximation of the centrifugal term. The energy eigenvalues and the corresponding wavefunctions are obtained for different values of screening parameter. The numerical examples are presented and the results are in good agreement with the values in the literature. Three special cases, i.e., s-wave, ξ = λ = 1, and β = 0, are investigated.     

Experimental determination of the calibration factor of polarization-Mie lidar

A ground-based polarization-Mie lidar has been developed to measure backscattering signals from the atmosphere and linear depolarization ratios at 532 nm. To retrieve depolarization properties of clouds and aerosols, the calibration factor (k) of two polarization channels at 532 nm must be calculated. In this paper three different experimental methods are presented to determine the calibration factor (k) in this polarization-Mie lidar. Some measured examples are presented and discussed. Experimental and validated results indicate these methods are feasible.     

The transparency of nuclei to nucleons and pions in a relativistic Glauber approximation

We present a selection of results obtained within the context of a relativistic eikonal model. First, results of relativistic Glauber calculations for the nuclear transparency extracted from photon-induced pion production are presented. Second, computed differential cross-sections for the ¹² C(p, 2p) are compared to data.     

Summation of Parquet diagrams as an ab initio method in nuclear structure calculations

In this work we discuss the summation of the Parquet class of diagrams within Green’s function theory as a possible framework for ab initio nuclear structure calculations. The theory is presented and some numerical details are discussed, in particular the approximations employed. We apply the Parquet method to a simple model, and compare our results with those from an exact solution. The main conclusion is that even at the level of approximation presented here, the results shows good agreement with other comparable ab initio approaches.     

High-T c Josephson junctions for electronic applications

Summary The current status of the electronic applications of high-T _c Josephson junctions is briefly reviewed. Recent results obtained by the authors on devices employing step-edge junctions are reported. In particular the design of a microwave oscillator based on a parallel array of junctions is discussed and preliminary experimental results are presented. Paper presented at the ?VII Congresso SATT? Torino, 4–7 October 1994.     

Spreading resistance and 1/f noise of embedded ellipsoidal electrodes in a conductor

Results of calculations for the spreading resistance and the resistance fluctuations due to 1/f conductivity fluctuations are presented. The resistor consists of a conducting medium between a small embedded ellipsoidal electrode and a large electrode at a large distance from the small one. The resistance and resistance fluctuations are compared with the simple results for an embedded hemispherical electrode. The results are presented graphically and can be used for ohmic contacts on semiconductors or for embedded ellipsoidal electrodes in an ionic solution.     

Multiphoton ionization studies of amines with UV-VIS lasers

Three and four photon ionization studies at 355 and 532 nm are presented for the isomeric propylamines and n-pentylamine. Ionic fragmentation patterns and ion yields are presented as a function of laser wavelength and fluence. These time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectra are compared with both electron impact data and the TOF mass spectra of the previously reported butylamines. A brief discussion of the dynamics of the decomposition process is presented in light of the butylamine results and competitive ionic fragmentation pathways.     

Highlights and perspectives of the JLab spin physics program

Nucleon spin structure has been an active, exciting and intriguing subject of interest for the last three decades. Recent precision spin-structure data from Jefferson Lab have significantly advanced our knowledge of nucleon structure in the valence quark (high-x) region and improved our understanding of higher-twist effects, spin sum rules and quark-hadron duality. First, results of spin sum rules and polarizabilities in the low to intermediate Q ² region are presented. Comparison with theoretical calculations, in particular with Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT) calculations, are discussed. Surprising disagreements of ChPT calculations with experimental results on the generalized spin polarizability, δ _LT, were found. Then, precision measurements of the spin asymmetry, A ₁, in the high-x region are presented. They provide crucial input for global fits to world data to extract polarized parton distribution functions. The up and down quark spin distributions in the nucleon were extracted. The results for Δd/d disagree with the leading-order pQCD prediction assuming hadron helicity conservation. Results of precision measurements of the g ₂ structure function to study higher-twist effects are presented. The data indicate a significant higher-twist (twist-3 or higher) effect. The second moment of the spin structure functions and the twist-3 matrix element d ₂ results were extracted. The high Q ² result was compared with a Lattice QCD calculation. Results on the resonance spin-structure functions in the intermediate Q ² range are presented, which, in combination with DIS data, enable a detailed study of quark-hadron duality in spin-structure functions. Finally, an experiment to study neutron transversity and transverse spin asymmetries is discussed. A future plan with the 12 GeV energy upgrade at JLab is briefly outlined.     

Variational study of the ground state energy of theE−b 1,b 2 Jahn-Teller system

In this paper a variational method for the ground state energy approximation of theE−b ₁,b ₂ Jahn-Teller system is presented. This method is based on the choice of a suitable variational ground state wave function. This trial wave function — a correlated squeezed state — is used to account for the correlation and anharmonicity of the interaction between the two vibrational modes; the anharmonicity of both modes is taken into account by the squeeze effects of these modes. The ground state of mode 1 in this trial wave function is considered as a linear combination of the two displaced harmonic oscillators. The ground state energies for the linearE - e Jahn-Teller system calculated by this method are not only in good agreement with the exact diagonalization results, but they are also better than those from the previous analytical studies. Another conclusion which results from the presented model is the following one: the squeezing effect of mode 1 for the linearE - e Jahn-Teller system is substantially smaller, in contrast with the results which are presented in the previous analytical studies.     

Synthesis of ladder-type filters based on SAW resonators

A synthesis method for ladder-type filters based on SAW resonators is described. SAW devices are designed with modified equations for coupled waves. Nomograms for choosing the geometry of the filters on ST, X-cut quartz and on 36° Y, X-cut LiTaO₃ substrates are presented. Theoretical results are compared with experimental data.     

High order accurate, explicit, difference formulas for the classical wave equation

This article presents a simple and yet very novel approach to developing difference schemes for wave equations. The schemes that are developed are explicit in nature. The schemes are of such generality that one can transform from one difference scheme to another with only the slightest of computational effort. The schemes exhibit dispersive errors. The errors can be minimized, however, by increasing the order of truncation error. Numerical results are presented for two linear model equations with truncation error ranging up to O(h⁵). Numerical results are also presented for a system of shallow water equations. By choosing the appropriate a for a first order linear equation (a defines the geometry of an element) we may generate stable schemes for an arbitrary Courant number.     

Nuclear effects in the structure functions

By using a relativistic framework and accurate nuclear spectral function the structure functions F_2A andF _3A of deep inelastic charged lepton and neutrino scattering are calculated in nuclei and results are presented.