How large is “large N c ” for nuclear matter?

We argue that a so far neglected dimensionless scale, the number of neighbors in a closely packed system, is relevant for the convergence of the large-N _c expansion at high chemical potential. It is only when the number of colors is large w.r.t. this new scale $( \sim \mathcal{O}(10))$ that a convergent large-N _c limit is reached. This provides an explanation as to why the large-N _c expansion, qualitatively successful in vacuum QCD, fails to describe high baryo-chemical potential systems, such as nuclear matter. It also means that phenomenological claims about high-density matter based on large-N _c extrapolations should be treated with caution. This work is based on [1].     

Semiconducting large bandgap oxides as potential thermoelectric materials for high-temperature power generation?

Semiconducting large bandgap oxides are considered as interesting candidates for high-temperature thermoelectric power generation (700–1,200 °C) due to their stability, lack of toxicity and low cost, but so far they have not reached sufficient performance for extended application. In this review, we summarize recent progress on thermoelectric oxides, analyze concepts for tuning semiconductor thermoelectric properties with view of their applicability to oxides and determine key drivers and limitations for electrical and thermal transport properties in oxides based on our own experimental work and literature results. For our experimental assessment, we have selected representative multicomponent oxides that range from materials with highly symmetric crystal structure (SrTiO₃ perovskite) over oxides with large densities of planar crystallographic defects (Ti _n O_2n?1 Magnéli phases with a single type of shear plane, NbO _x block structures with intersecting shear planes and WO_3?x with more defective block and channel structures) to layered superstructures (Ca₃Co₄O₉ and double perovskites) and also include a wide range of their composites with a variety of second phases. Crystallographic or microstructural features of these oxides are in 0.3–2 nm size range, so that oxide phonons can efficiently interact with them. We explore in our experiments the effects of doping, grain size, crystallographic defects, superstructures, second phases, texturing and (to a limited extend) processing on electric conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity and figure of merit. Jonker and lattice-versus-electrical conductivity plots are used to compare specific materials and material families and extract levers for future improvement of oxide thermoelectrics. We show in our work that oxygen vacancy doping (reduction) is a more powerful driver for improving the power factor for SrTiO₃, TiO₂ and NbO _x than heterovalent doping. Based on our Seebeck-conductivity plots, we derived a set of highest achievable power factors. We met these best values in our own experiments for our titanium oxide- and niobium oxide-based materials. For strontium titanate-based materials, the estimated highest power factor was not reached; further material improvement is possible and can be reached for materials with higher carrier densities. Our results show that periodic crystallographic defects and superstructures are most efficient in reducing the lattice thermal conductivity in oxides, followed by hetero- and homovalent doping. Due to the small phonon mean free path in oxides, grain boundary scattering in nanoceramics or materials with nanodispersions is much less efficient. We investigated the impact of texturing in Ca₃Co₄O₉ ceramics on thermoelectric performance; we did not find any improvement in the overall in-plane performance of a textured ceramic compared to the corresponding random ceramic.     

Search for one large extra dimension with the DELPHI detector at?LEP

Single photons detected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP2 in the years 1997–2000 are reanalysed to investigate the existence of a single extra dimension in a modified ADD scenario with slightly warped large extra dimensions. The data collected at centre-of-mass energies between 180 and 209 GeV for an integrated luminosity of ∼650 pb⁻¹ agree with the predictions of the Standard Model and allow a limit to be set on graviton emission in one large extra dimension. The limit obtained on the fundamental mass scale M _D is 1.69 TeV/c ² at 95% CL, with an expected limit of 1.71 TeV/c ². Deceased.     

BOLD functional MRI in disease and pharmacological studies: room for improvement?

In the past decade the use of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI to investigate the effect of diseases and pharmacological agents on brain activity has increased greatly. BOLD fMRI does not measure neural activity directly, but relies on a cascade of physiological events linking neural activity to the generation of MRI signal. However, most of the disease and pharmacological studies performed so far have interpreted changes in BOLD fMRI as "brain activation," ignoring the potential confounds that can arise through drug- or disease-induced modulation of events downstream of the neural activity. This issue is especially serious in diseases (like multiple sclerosis, brain tumours and stroke) and drugs (like anaesthetics or those with a vascular action) that are known to influence these physiological events. Here we provide evidence that, to extract meaningful information on brain activity in patient and pharmacological BOLD fMRI studies, it is important to identify, characterise and possibly correct these influences that potentially confound the results. We suggest a series of experimental measures to improve the interpretability of BOLD fMRI studies. We have ranked these according to their potential information and current practical feasibility. First-line, necessary improvements consist of (1) the inclusion of one or more control tasks, and (2) the recording of physiological parameters during scanning and subsequent correction of possible between-group differences. Second-line, highly recommended important aim to make the results of a patient or drug BOLD study more interpretable and include the assessment of (1) baseline brain perfusion, (2) vascular reactivity, (3) the inclusion of stimulus-related perfusion fMRI and (4) the recording of electrophysiological responses to the stimulus of interest. Finally, third-line, desirable improvements consist of the inclusion of (1) simultaneous EEG-fMRI, (2) cerebral blood volume and (3) rate of metabolic oxygen consumption measurements and, when relevant, (4) animal studies investigating signalling between neural cells and blood vessels.     

Have we found conclusive evidence for dark matter through direct detection experiments?

A WIMP-model-independent method is used to examine the existing evidence for low mass dark matter. Using XENON100's recent result of 224.6 live days × 34 kg exposure and PICASSO's result that was published in 2012, we have obtained constraints on the couplings |an| 0.4 and |ap| 0.3, corresponding to spin-dependent cross-sections of σn 2.5×10-38cm2and σp 1.4×10-38cm2for a WIMP mass of 10 GeV/c2. It is shown that the spin-independent isospin-violating dark matter model also fails to reconcile the recent result from XENON100 with the positive results from DAMA, CoGeNT and CDMS-.     

Are the evidences of forensic entomology preserved in ethanol suitable for SEM studies?

In forensic practice, the use of arthropod evidences to estimate the postmortem interval is a very good approach when the elapsed time from death is long, but it requires the correct identification of the specimens. This is a crucial step, not always easy to achieve, in particular when dealing with immature specimens. In this case, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) can be useful, but the techniques used to preserve specimens in forensic practice are usually different from those used to prepare specimens for SEM studies. To determine whether forensic evidences preserving techniques are also compatible with SEM analysis, we have compared specimens of all the immature stages of Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera, Calliphoridae) preserved in 70% ethanol, with others prepared with aldehydic fixative techniques that are more appropriate for SEM studies. At the same time, two drying techniques have also been compared with both fixative techniques, the critical point drying and air-drying following with hexamethyldisilizane treatment (HMDS). Our results indicate that there are not basis against recommending the use of ethanol to preserve forensic entomological evidences and that both drying methods appear to offer good results for second and third instar larvae, although HMDS behaves better with eggs and pupae.     

Docking and quantitative structure–activity relationship studies for sulfonyl hydrazides as inhibitors of cytosolic human branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase

We have performed the docking of sulfonyl hydrazides complexed with cytosolic branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase (BCATc) to study the orientations and preferred active conformations of these inhibitors. The study was conducted on a selected set of 20 compounds with variation in structure and activity. In addition, the predicted inhibitor concentration (IC₅₀) of the sulfonyl hydrazides as BCAT inhibitors were obtained by a quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) method using three-dimensional (3D) vectors. We found that three-dimensional molecule representation of structures based on electron diffraction (3D-MoRSE) scheme contains the most relevant information related to the studied activity. The statistical parameters [cross-validate correlation coefficient (Q ² = 0.796) and fitted correlation coefficient (R ² = 0.899)] validated the quality of the 3D-MoRSE predictive model for 16 compounds. Additionally, this model adequately predicted four compounds that were not included in the training set.     

Swift Acetate Glial Assay (SAGA): an accelerated human ¹³C MRS brain exam for clinical diagnostic use

We demonstrate a robust procedure for the quantitative characterization of glial metabolism in human brain. In the past, the slope of the uptake and production of enriched label at steady state were used to determine metabolic rates, requiring the patient to be in the magnet for 120-160 min. In the present method, (13)C cerebral metabolite profiles were acquired at steady state alone on a routine clinical MR scanner in 25.6 min. Results obtained from the new short method (SAGA) were comparable to those achieved in a conventional, long method and effective for determination of glial metabolic rate in posterior-parietal and frontal brain regions.     

Methyl viologen induced fluorescence quenching of CdTe quantum dots for highly sensitive and selective “off-on” sensing of ascorbic acid through redox reaction

Journal of Fluorescence - A turn-on fluorescent sensor based on CdTe quantum dots (QDs) is designed for highly sensitive and selective ascorbic acid (AA) detection. CdTe shows a strong emission...     

Hydroxyl radical consumption following photolysis of vapor-phase hydrogen peroxide at 266?nm: Implications for?photofragmentation laser-induced fluorescence measurements of?hydrogen peroxide

The decay of OH concentration following photolysis of room-temperature vapor-phase hydrogen peroxide is studied as a function of photolysis fluence at 266 nm in an open air environment. The rate of decay is found to increase with increasing photolysis fluence, i.e., with increasing number of photodissociated H₂O₂(g) molecules. Single-exponential functions approximate the OH concentration decay rather well, even for higher photolysis levels, and the decay time is shown to be inversely proportional to the H₂O₂(g) concentration. For fluences of about 450 mJ/cm² the difference between a single-exponential decay and measured data is becoming evident after approximately 150 μs. Calculations based on a chemical kinetics model agree well with experimental data also for times >150 μs. By combining the model with measurements, the actual photolysis levels used in experiments are estimated. The best fit between measured data and the model suggests that about 1.1% of the H₂O₂(g) molecules are dissociated with a photolysis fluence of ∼450 mJ/cm², in reasonable agreement with a Beer–Lambert based estimation. Excitation scans did not unfold any differences between OH spectra recorded at different photolysis fluences.     

Synchrotron and neutron-scattering methods for studies of properties of condensed matter: Competition or complementarity?

Comparative analysis of modern possibilities of synchrotron-radiation and neutron-scattering methods for studies of collective excitations, atomic and magnetic structure of condensed matter is presented in this review. The opportunities for research using techniques based on inelastic scattering, diffraction, and small-angle scattering of synchrotron radiation and neutrons, as well as synchrotron-radiation resonance elastic and inelastic scattering and absorption, have been considered. The application limits and complementarity of the considered synchrotron-radiation and neutron-scattering methods have been discussed.     

The effect of climate on acoustic signals: does atmospheric sound absorption matter for bird song and bat echolocation?

The divergence of signals along ecological gradients may lead to speciation. The current research tests the hypothesis that variation in sound absorption selects for divergence in acoustic signals along climatic gradients, which has implications for understanding not only diversification, but also how organisms may respond to climate change. Because sound absorption varies with temperature, humidity, and the frequency of sound, individuals or species may vary signal structure with changes in climate over space or time. In particular, signals of lower frequency, narrower bandwidth, and longer duration should be more detectable in environments with high sound absorption. Using both North American wood warblers (Parulidae) and bats of the American Southwest, this work found evidence of associations between signal structure and sound absorption. Warbler species with higher mean absorption across their range were more likely to have narrow bandwidth songs. Bat species found in higher absorption habitats were more likely to have lower frequency echolocation calls. In addition, bat species changed echolocation call structure across seasons, using longer duration, lower frequency calls in the higher absorption rainy season. These results suggest that signals may diverge along climatic gradients due to variation in sound absorption, although the effects of absorption are modest.     

New proton conducting materials for technical applications: what can we learn from solid state NMR studies?

Many novel proton conducting materials are based on complex hydrogen bonding networks of amphoteric hydrogen bonded moieties. Solid state NMR provides unique methods to study the properties of such network and specific proton conduction mechanisms in detail. In particular 1H solid state NMR techniques under fast magic angle spinning are powerful tools in this area. Site specific studies of the dynamic behavior via variable temperature 1H MAS measurements provide insight in the thermodynamics of the hydrogen bonding as well as activation energies for the proton transfer between the amphoteric sites. On macroscopic length scales, pulsed field gradient NMR experiments are able to determine the proton mobility and the contribution of different conduction mechanisms. In this article, aspects of recent solid state NMR studies in the field are reviewed and typical experimental methods as well as their possible outcome are discussed.     

What can we learn from the neutron clinical experience for improving ion-beam techniques and high-LET patient selection?

Historically, improvements in radiotherapy have been mainly due to improvements in physical selectivity: beam penetration, collimation, dosimetry, treatment planning; and advances in imaging. Neutrons were the first high-LET (linear energy transfer) radiation to be used clinically and showed improvement in the differential response of radiation resistant tumors and normal tissues. The benefits of fast neutrons (and other forms of high LET radiations) are due to their biological effects: a reduction of the OER, a reduction in the differential cell radiosensitivity related to their position in the mitotic cycle, and a reduction in cellular repair capacity (thus less importance of fractionation). The poor physical selectivity of the early neutron therapy beams introduced a systematic bias in comparison with the photon treatments and created a negative perception for neutron therapy. However, significant improvements in the neutron therapy equipment resulted in a physical selectivity similar to modern MV photon therapy.The tumor types or sites where the best therapeutic results were obtained included inoperable or recurrent salivary gland tumors locally extended prostatic adenocarcinomas, and slowly growing well-differentiated sarcomas. The benefit of neutrons for some other well-defined groups of patients was demonstrated in randomized trials. It was estimated that about 20 % of all radiotherapy patients could benefit from fast neutrons (if neutrons are delivered under satisfactory physical conditions). An important issue for fast neutron therapy is the selection of the types of patients who could most benefit from high-LET radiations. The same issue is raised today with other high-LET radiations (e.g., ¹²C ions). It is reasonable to assume that the same types of patients would benefit from ¹²C irradiation. Of course the better physical selectivity of ion beams enhances the treatment possibilities but this is true for both the high-LET and low-LET radiations (i.e., moving from neutrons to ¹²C ions and from photons to protons, respectively). An important area of research involves developing criteria to identify specific patients suitable for high-LET radiation. One promising technique is to measure the RBE of the cancer cell population in vitro mainly in head and neck tumors. Modern molecular imaging allows the identification of hypoxic or proliferative regions in the tumor. Special MRI examinations are also able to identify hypoxic regions. A promising predictive test recently initiated, is the study of non-repairable double strand breaks but the utility of the technique needs to be confirmed. The extensive experience with fast neutron therapy can greatly assist the transition to high-LET charged-particle therapy.     

Speckle photo electromotive force in CdTe:V and CdTe:Ge for?measurement of vibration with large amplitude

The photo-electromotive force induced by a speckle pattern vibrating with large amplitude in photorefractive CdTe:V and CdTe:Ge is experimentally studied. This technique is shown to be suitable for transversal amplitude vibration measurement as well as for material response time and associated conductivity characterization. Experiments were carried out with 532 and 1064 nm wavelength illumination over a wide vibration frequency range. The results are in good agreement with a previously reported theoretical model. The studied doped crystals exhibit peculiar different features that are described and discussed.     

Are multi-contrast magnetic resonance images necessary for segmenting multiple sclerosis brains? A large cohort study based on deep learning

BackgroundMagnetic resonance images with multiple contrasts or sequences are commonly used for segmenting brain tissues, including lesions, in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, acquisition of images with multiple contrasts increases the scan time and complexity of the analysis, possibly introducing factors that could compromise segmentation quality.ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of various combinations of multi-contrast images as input on the segmented volumes of gray (GM) and white matter (WM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and lesions using a deep neural network.MethodsU-net, a fully convolutional neural network was used to automatically segment GM, WM, CSF, and lesions in 1000 MS patients. The input to the network consisted of 15 combinations of FLAIR, T1-, T2-, and proton density-weighted images. The Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) was evaluated to assess the segmentation performance. For lesions, true positive rate (TPR) and false positive rate (FPR) were also evaluated. In addition, the effect of lesion size on lesion segmentation was investigated.ResultsHighest DSC was observed for all the tissue volumes, including lesions, when the input was combination of all four image contrasts. All other input combinations that included FLAIR also provided high DSC for all tissue classes. However, the quality of lesion segmentation showed strong dependence on the input images. The DSC and TPR values for inputs with the four contrast combination and FLAIR alone were very similar, but FLAIR showed a moderately higher FPR for lesion size <100 μl. For lesions smaller than 20 μl all image combinations resulted in poor performance. The segmentation quality improved with lesion size.ConclusionsBest performance for segmented tissue volumes was obtained with all four image contrasts as the input, and comparable performance was attainable with FLAIR only as the input, albeit with a moderate increase in FPR for small lesions. This implies that acquisition of only FLAIR images provides satisfactory tissue segmentation. Lesion segmentation was poor for very small lesions and improved rapidly with lesion size.     

New highly sensitive rodent and human tests for soluble amyloid precursor protein alpha quantification: preclinical and clinical applications in Alzheimer’s disease

Background

Exposure to ethanol during early development triggers severe neuronal death by activating multiple stress pathways and causes neurological disorders, such as fetal alcohol effects or fetal alcohol syndrome. This study investigated the effect of ethanol on intracellular events that predispose developing neurons for apoptosis via calcium-mediated signaling. Although the underlying molecular mechanisms of ethanol neurotoxicity are not completely determined, mitochondrial dysfunction, altered calcium homeostasis and apoptosis-related proteins have been implicated in ethanol neurotoxicity. The present study was designed to evaluate the neuroprotective mechanisms of metformin (Met) and thymoquinone (TQ) during ethanol toxicity in rat prenatal cortical neurons at gestational day (GD) 17.5.

Results

We found that Met and TQ, separately and synergistically, increased cell viability after ethanol (100 mM) exposure for 12 hours and attenuated the elevation of cytosolic free calcium [Ca²⁺]_c. Furthermore, Met and TQ maintained normal physiological mitochondrial transmembrane potential (????_M), which is typically lowered by ethanol exposure. Increased cytosolic free [Ca²⁺]_c and lowered mitochondrial transmembrane potential after ethanol exposure significantly decreased the expression of a key anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2), increased expression of Bax, and stimulated the release of cytochrome-c from mitochondria. Met and TQ treatment inhibited the apoptotic cascade by increasing Bcl-2 expression. These compounds also repressed the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 and reduced the cleavage of PARP-1. Morphological conformation of cell death was assessed by TUNEL, Fluoro-Jade-B, and PI staining. These staining methods demonstrated more cell death after ethanol treatment, while Met, TQ or Met plus TQ prevented ethanol-induced apoptotic cell death.

Conclusion

These findings suggested that Met and TQ are strong protective agents against ethanol-induced neuronal apoptosis in primary rat cortical neurons. The collective data demonstrated that Met and TQ have the potential to ameliorate ethanol neurotoxicity and revealed a possible protective target mechanism for the damaging effects of ethanol during early brain development.     

Feasibility studies on newly identified LiCrP2O7 compound for?lithium insertion behavior

A new category of lithium intercalating cathode candidates, namely LiCrP₂O₇, was synthesized at 800°C using a citric acid assisted modified (CAM) sol–gel method and examined for possible lithium insertion behavior. The formation of a phase pure and monoclinic LiCrP₂O₇ compound with finer crystallite size was confirmed from the X-ray diffraction patterns. The presence of nano-sized particles as observed from a transmittance electron microscope image of LiCrP₂O₇ and the presence of a preferred local cation environment, evidenced from Fourier transform infra-red and ⁷Li nuclear magnetic resonance studies, are the added advantages of the present study. Further, cyclic voltametry study performed on 2016 coin cells consisting of the synthesized LiCrP₂O₇ cathode revealed an excellent cycling reversibility and structural stability. Hence, CAM sol–gel synthesized LiCrP₂O₇ is found to possess desirable physical as well as electrochemical properties, leading one to consider the same as a possible lithium intercalating cathode material.