julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Formation of phase lags at the cyclotron energies in the pulse profiles of magnetized, accreting neutron stars
2014-03-17

Context. Accretion-powered X-ray pulsars show highly energy-dependent and complex pulse-profile morphologies. Significant deviations from the average pulse profile can appear, in particular close to the cyclotron line energies. These deviations can be described as energy-dependent phase lags, that is, as energy-dependent shifts of main features in the pulse profile. Aims. Using a numerical study we explore the effect of cyclotron resonant scattering on observable, energy-resolved pulse profiles. Methods. We generated the observable emission as a function of spin phase, using Monte Carlo simulations for cyclotron resonant scattering and a numerical ray-tracing routine accounting for general relativistic light-bending effects on the intrinsic emission from the accretion columns. Results. We find strong changes in the pulse profile coincident with the cyclotron line energies. Features in the pulse profile vary strongly with respect to the average pulse profile with the observing geometry and shift and smear out in energy additionally when assuming a non-static plasma. Conclusions. We demonstrate how phase lags at the cyclotron energies arise as a consequence of the effects of angular redistribution of X-rays by cyclotron resonance scattering in a strong magnetic field combined with relativistic effects. We also show that phase lags are strongly dependent on the accretion geometry. These intrinsic effects will in principle allow us to constrain a system’s accretion geometry.
Core-Hole Screening, Electronic Structure, and Paramagnetic Character in Thin Films of Organic Radicals Deposited on SiO2/Si(111)
2014-03-17

We investigate thin films of a pyrene derivative of the nitronyl nitroxide radical deposited on SiO2/Si(111). By using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, we study the electronic structure of the system. From photon energy-dependent analysis, we suggest the occurrence of a shake-up transition consisting of a dipole excitation of a core electron into a valence orbital and a monopole ionization of a valence electron. The persistence of the paramagnetic character is explored by electron spin resonance spectroscopy.
A novel luminescence-based method for the detection of functionally active antibodies to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors of the M3 type (mAchR3) in patients' sera
2014-03-17

Summary In different bioassays, functional antibodies reacting with the human muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M3(mAchR3) have been detected in sera from patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS), and there is strong evidence that those antibodies may have pathogenetic relevance. However, depending on the method of detection, their prevalence varied. Furthermore, those bioassays are difficult to standardize. We report on the development and optimization of a novel test system based on a luminometric method to determine downstream signalling of mAchR3 which produces specific and reproducible results. Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells were transfected with plasmids encoding mAchR3 and a green fluorescence protein (GFP)/aequorin fusion protein. Incubation of cells with carbachol resulted in an increase in intracellular [Ca2+], which was detected by measuring light emission with a luminometer, and the effect of incubation with patients' immunoglobulins (Ig) was evaluated. Optimal cell density, Ig preparation and time of incubation with patients' sera were determined. Sera from patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS; n = 40), systemic sclerosis (SSc; n = 47), myasthenia gravis (MG; n = 133) and 50 blood donors were analysed. Optimal assay conditions were obtained with a cell density of 100 000 cells/ml, isolation of Ig by ammonium sulphate precipitation and short-term incubation. Based on this highly reliable assay, 50% of the pSS patients had antibodies which inhibited carbachol-induced activation of mAchR3; none of the SSc patients, 6% of the patients with MG and 12% of the blood donors had antibodies which reacted with the mAchR3. This method facilitates the determination of functional anti-mAchR3 antibodies in patients' sera, confirmed their high prevalence in pSS patients and may, therefore, help to analyse their pathogenetic and clinical relevance in more detail.
Cell-Wall Glycolipid Mutations and Their Effects on Virulence of E. faecalis in a Rat Model of Infective Endocarditis
2014-03-17

Enterococci are among the major pathogens implicated in cardiac infections and biofilm formation. E. faecalis has been shown to play an important role in infectious endocarditis. Several distinct mechanisms for biofilm formation have been identified in E. faecalis. Our group has previously characterized two distinct bacterial glucosyltransferases playing key roles in the production of the major cell wall glycolipids and leading to reduced biofilm production. To assess if this mechanism is involved in the pathogenesis of enterococcal endocarditis we compared the wild-type strain of E. faecalis 12030 with two mutants in gene EF2891 and EF2890 respectively in a rat model of infective endocarditis. The results showed less endocarditic lesions and reduced colony counts per vegetation in the two mutants. indicating that the modification of bacterial surface lipids results in significantly reduced virulence in infective endocarditis. These results underscore the important role of biofilm formation in the pathogenicity of enterococcal endocarditis and may indicate an interesting target for novel therapeutic strategies.
The Different Effects of Resveratrol and Naringenin on Isolated Human Umbilical Vein: The Role of ATP‐Sensitive K+ Channels
2014-03-17

The blood flow from the placenta to the fetus depends on human umbilical vein (HUV) vascular tone. ATP‐sensitive K + (K ATP ) channels link the metabolic state of the cell to membrane potential, and their activation in the HUV represents protection against hypoxia. The aims of our study were to assess the effects of resveratrol and naringenin on the HUV and to define the roles of K ATP channels in their effects. Serotonin or 100 mM K + were used for precontraction of the HUV without endothelium. The cumulative concentration–response curves were obtained by adding increasing concentrations of resveratrol or naringenin. Glibenclamide was used, in order to test the role of K ATP channels in its effect. Resveratrol induced more potent vasodilatation of serotonin‐ and 100 mM K + ‐precontracted HUV than naringenin. Glibenclamide induced significant shift to the right of the concentration–response curves of resveratrol and P1075 (a specific opener of K ATP channels). Western blotting showed that HUV expressed protein Kir6.1. Thus, resveratrol and naringenin produce dilatation of HUV. It seems that K ATP channels are involved in the relaxation of HUV induced by resveratrol, while naringenin seems to interact with other ion channels. The K + channel‐independent mechanism(s) of these polyphenols could not be excluded. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.
Web-Based Apps for Reflection: A Longitudinal Study With Hospital Staff
2014-03-17

The findings provide evidence for an effect of the apps on hospital employees' reflection behavior. Apps that foster reflective learning can increase health care professionals' reflection about work experiences and support them in discussing experiences in teams or with their supervisors. The relationship between collaborative reflection and job satisfaction suggests that opportunities for joint reflection on work experiences in a hospital have further impact over and above fostering reflective learning per se. We discuss the limitations of our study and provide suggestions for both future research and the development of Web-based apps.
Fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) to monitor cardiac time intervals in fetuses at risk for isoimmune AV block
2014-03-17

Objective: The objective of this report is to detect cardiac time intervals (CTIs) in fetuses exposed to SSA/Ro-SSB/La antibodies in relation to gestational age (GA) and fetal weight and compared them with a control cohort. Methods: Fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) recordings were conducted on a biomagnetic device dedicated to obstetrical measurement starting in the second trimester. Fetal cardiac time intervals of 87 healthy fetuses of normal gestation (control group) were compared to 11 fetuses exposed to maternal SSA/Ro-SSB/La antibodies (study group). Results: fCTIs were analyzed starting at 17 weeks of GA. Atrial and ventricular depolarization times increased with GA in both groups. PQ segments were significantly longer in the study group (50.8 ms vs. 60.2 ms; p &lt; 0.001) independent of GA or fetal weight. PQ segment prolongation was more obvious in the study group prior to 30 weeks of GA. Conclusion: PQ segment prolongation can be interpreted as early AV-node involvement caused by maternal SSA/Ro-SSB/La antibodies. The age dependency of the PQ segment should be taken into account in further studies.
Progress in Surface Theory
2014-03-17

Over the last 30 years global surface theory has become pivotal in the understanding of low dimensional global phenomena. At the same time surface geometry became a platform on which seemingly different areas of mathematics – such as geometric and topological analysis, integrable systems, algebraic geometry of curves, and mathematical physics – coalesce to produce far reaching ideas, conjectures, methods and results. The workshop hosted talks on the resolutions of famous conjectures in surface geometry, including the Willmore conjecture, and on exciting new progress in the understanding of moduli spaces of special surface classes.
Cerium(III/IV) Formamidinate Chemistry, and a Stable Cerium(IV) Diolate
2014-03-18

Abstract Four new cerium(III) formamidinate complexes comprising [Ce( p ‐TolForm) 3 ], [Ce(DFForm) 3 (thf) 2 ], [Ce(DFForm) 3 ], and [Ce(EtForm) 3 ] were synthesized by protonolysis reactions using [Ce{N(SiMe 3 ) 2 } 3 ] and formamidines of varying functionality, namely N , N ′‐bis(4‐methylphenyl)formamidine ( p ‐TolFormH), N , N ′‐bis(2,6‐difluorophenyl)formamidine (DFFormH), and the sterically more demanding N , N ′‐bis(2,6‐diethylphenyl)formamidine (EtFormH). The bimetallic cerium lithium complex [LiCe(DFForm) 4 ] was synthesized by treating a mixture of [Ce{N(SiHMe 2 ) 2 } 3 (thf) 2 ] and [Li{N(SiHMe 2 ) 2 }] with four equivalents of DFFormH in toluene. Oxidation of the trivalent cerium(III) formamidinate complexes by trityl chloride (Ph 3 CCl) caused dramatic color changes, although the cerium(IV) species appeared transient and reformed cerium(III) complexes and N′ ‐trityl‐ N,N′ ‐diarylformamidines shortly after oxidation. The first structurally characterized homoleptic cerium(IV) formamidinate complex [Ce( p ‐TolForm) 4 ] was obtained through a protonolysis reaction between [Ce{N(SiHMe 2 ) 2 } 4 ] and four equivalents of p ‐TolFormH. [Ce{N(SiHMe 2 ) 2 } 4 ] was also treated with DFFormH and EtFormH, but the resulting cerium(IV) complexes decomposed before isolation was possible. The new cerium(IV) silylamide complex [Ce{N(SiMe 3 ) 2 } 3 (bda) 0.5 ] 2 (bda=1,4‐benzenediolato) was synthesized by treatment of [Ce{N(SiMe 3 ) 2 } 3 ] with half an equivalent of 1,4‐benzoquinone, and showed remarkable resistance towards protonolysis or reduction.
Sulforaphane Protects from T Cell–Mediated Autoimmune Disease by Inhibition of IL-23 and IL-12 in Dendritic Cells
2014-03-18

Abstract Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate, is part of an important group of naturally occurring small molecules with anti-inflammatory properties. The published reports are best conceivable with an inhibition of T cell function, but the mode of action remains unknown. We therefore analyzed the effect of SFN on T cell–mediated autoimmune disease. Feeding mice with SFN protected from severe experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Disease amelioration was associated with reduced IL-17 and IFN-γ expression in draining lymph nodes. In vitro, SFN treatment of T cells did not directly alter T cell cytokine secretion. In contrast, SFN treatment of dendritic cells (DCs) inhibited TLR4-induced IL-12 and IL-23 production, and severely suppressed Th1 and Th17 development of T cells primed by SFN-treated DCs. SFN regulated the activity of the TLR4-induced transcription factor NF-κB, without affecting the degradation of its inhibitor IκB-α. Instead, SFN treatment of DCs resulted in strong expression of the stress response protein heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which interacts with and thereby inhibits NF-κB p65. Consistent with these findings, HO-1 bound to p65 and subsequently inhibited the p65 activity at the IL23a and IL12b promoters. Importantly, SFN suppressed Il23a and Il12b expression in vivo and silenced Th17/Th1 responses within the CNS. Thus, our data show that SFN improves Th17/Th1-mediated autoimmune disease by inducing HO-1 and inhibiting NF-κB p65-regulated IL-23 and IL-12 expression.
Cinnamon Extract Improves Insulin Sensitivity in the Brain and Lowers Liver Fat in Mouse Models of Obesity
2014-03-18

Together, cinnamon extract improved insulin action in the brain as well as brain activity and locomotion. This specific effect may represent an important central feature of cinnamon in improving insulin action in the brain, and mediates metabolic alterations in the periphery to decrease liver fat and improve glucose homeostasis.
Dynamical Instability of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in an Optical Ring Resonator
2014-03-18

We experimentally investigate the dynamical instability of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical ring resonator for various cavity detuning and pump powers. The resulting stability diagram is asymmetric with respect to the cavity detuning and can be described by the coupling of two atomic modes with one optical mode. We compare the experimental data to a numerical simulation and to an analytic expression of the phase boundary. For positive and negative pump cavity detuning, different coupling mechanisms are identified explaining the asymmetry of the stability diagram. We present a physical interpretation and discuss the connection to the Dicke quantum phase transition.
Pre- and Post-Processing Workflow for Affinity Purification Mass Spectrometry Data
2014-03-18

The reliable detection of protein-protein interactions by affinity purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) is crucial for the understanding of biological processes. Quantitative information can be used to separate truly interacting proteins from false-positives by contrasting counts of proteins binding to specific baits with counts of negative controls. Several approaches have been proposed for computing scores for potential interaction proteins, for example, the commonly used SAINT software. However, it remains a subjective decision where to set the cutoff score for candidate selection; furthermore, no precise control for the expected number of false-positives is provided. In related fields, successful data analysis strongly relies on statistical pre- and post-processing steps, which, so far, have played only a minor role in AP-MS data analysis. We introduce a complete workflow, embedding either the scoring method SAINT or alternatively a two-stage Poisson model into a pre- and post-processing framework. To this end, we investigate different normalization methods and apply a statistical filter adjusted to AP-MS data. Furthermore, we propose permutation and adjustment procedures, which allow the replacement of scores by statistical p values. The performance of the workflow is assessed on simulations as well as on a study focusing on interactions with the T3SS in Salmonella Typhimurium. Preprocessing methods significantly increase the number of detected truly interacting proteins, while a constant false-discovery rate is maintained. The software solution is freely available.
Stimulation of Erythrocyte Cell Membrane Scrambling by Mushroom Tyrosinase
2014-03-18

Background: Mushroom tyrosinase, a copper containing enzyme, modifies growth and survival of tumor cells. Mushroom tyrosinase may foster apoptosis, an effect in part due to interference with mitochondrial function. Erythrocytes lack mitochondria but are able to undergo apoptosis-like suicidal cell death or eryptosis, which is characterized by cell shrinkage and cell membrane scrambling leading to phosphatidylserine-exposure at the erythrocyte surface. Signaling involved in the triggering of eryptosis include increase of cytosolic Ca2+-activity ([Ca2+]i) and activation of sphingomyelinase with subsequent formation of ceramide. The present study explored, whether tyrosinase stimulates eryptosis. Methods: Cell volume has been estimated from forward scatter, phosphatidylserine-exposure from annexin V binding, [Ca2+]i from Fluo3-fluorescence, and ceramide abundance from binding of fluorescent antibodies in flow cytometry. Results: A 24 h exposure to mushroom tyrosinase (7 U/mL) was followed by a significant increase of [Ca2+]i, a significant increase of ceramide abundance, and a significant increase of annexin-V-binding. The annexin-V-binding following tyrosinase treatment was significantly blunted but not abrogated in the nominal absence of extracellular Ca2+. Tyrosinase did not significantly modify forward scatter. Conclusions: Tyrosinase triggers cell membrane scrambling, an effect, at least partially, due to entry of extracellular Ca2+ and ceramide formation.
Neural Correlates of Spatial Attention and Target Detection in a Multi-Target Environment
2014-03-18

Our ability to attend and respond in a multi-target environment is an essential and distinct human skill, as is dramatically demonstrated in stroke patients suffering from extinction. We performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging study to determine the neural anatomy associated with attending and responding to simultaneously presented targets. In healthy subjects, we tested the hypothesis that the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is associated both with the top-down direction of attention to multiple target locations and the bottom-up detection of multiple targets, whereas the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is predominantly associated with the bottom-up detection of multiple targets. We used a cued target detection task with a high proportion of catch trials to separately estimate top-down cue-related and bottom-up target-related neural activity. Both cues and targets could be presented unilaterally or bilaterally. We found no evidence of target-related neural activation specific to bilateral situations in the TPJ, but observed both cue-related and target-related neural activation specific to bilateral situations in the right IPS and target-related neural activity specific to bilateral situations in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). We conclude that the IPS and the IFG of the right hemisphere underlie our ability to attend and respond in a multi-target environment.
Tools for calculations in color space
2014-03-18

Both the higher energy and the initial state colored partons contribute to making exact calculations in QCD color space more important at the LHC than at its predecessors. This is applicable whether the method of assessing QCD is fixed order calculation, resummation, or parton showers. In this talk I will discuss for tackling the problem of performing exact color summed calculations. I will start with theoretical tools in the form of the (standard) trace bases and the orthogonal multiplet bases (for which a general method of construction was recently presented). Following this, I will focus on two new packages for performing color structure calculations: one easy to use Mathematica package, ColorMath, and one C++ package, ColorFull, which is suitable for more demanding calculations, and for interfacing with event generators.
Impact of Staphylococcus aureus on Pathogenesis in Polymicrobial Infections
2014-03-19

ABSTRACT Polymicrobial infections involving Staphylococcus aureus exhibit enhanced disease severity and morbidity. We reviewed the nature of polymicrobial interactions between S. aureus and other bacterial, fungal, and viral cocolonizers. Microbes that were frequently recovered from the infection site with S. aureus are Haemophilus influenzae , Enterococcus faecalis , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Streptococcus pneumoniae , Corynebacterium sp., Lactobacillus sp., Candida albicans , and influenza virus. Detailed analyses of several in vitro and in vivo observations demonstrate that S. aureus exhibits cooperative relations with C. albicans , E. faecalis , H. influenzae , and influenza virus and competitive relations with P. aeruginosa , Streptococcus pneumoniae , Lactobacillus sp., and Corynebacterium sp. Interactions of both types influence changes in S. aureus that alter its characteristics in terms of colony formation, protein expression, pathogenicity, and antibiotic susceptibility.
Reflecting optics in the diverticular eye of a deep-sea barreleye fish ( Rhynchohyalus natalensis )
2014-03-19

We describe the bi-directed eyes of a mesopelagic teleost fish, Rhynchohyalus natalensis , that possesses an extensive lateral diverticulum to each tubular eye. Each diverticulum contains a mirror that focuses light from the ventro-lateral visual field. This species can thereby visualize both downwelling sunlight and bioluminescence over a wide field of view. Modelling shows that the mirror is very likely to be capable of producing a bright, well focused image. After Dolichopteryx longipes , this is only the second description of an eye in a vertebrate having both reflective and refractive optics. Although superficially similar, the optics of the diverticular eyes of these two species of fish differ in some important respects. Firstly, the reflective crystals in the D. longipes mirror are derived from a tapetum within the retinal pigment epithelium, whereas in R. natalensis they develop from the choroidal argentea. Secondly, in D. longipes the angle of the reflective crystals varies depending on their position within the mirror, forming a Fresnel-type reflector, but in R. natalensis the crystals are orientated almost parallel to the mirror's surface and image formation is dependent on the gross morphology of the diverticular mirror. Two remarkably different developmental solutions have thus evolved in these two closely related species of opisthoproctid teleosts to extend the restricted visual field of a tubular eye and provide a well-focused image with reflective optics.
Half-Sandwich Rare-Earth-Metal Alkylaluminate Complexes Bearing Peripheral Boryl Ligands
2014-03-19

[(C5Me5)LnMe2]3 (Ln = Y, Lu) dissolve readily in a n-hexane/toluene mixture upon addition of 3 equiv of the organoaluminum boryl compound [Me2Al{B(NDippCH)2}]2 (Dipp = C6H3iPr2-2,6). The half-sandwich complexes (C5Me5)Ln[(AlMe3){B(NDippCH)2}]2 thus formed display unsymmetrical heteroaluminate coordination not only in the solid state but also at lower temperatures in solution, which is distinct from the behavior of the homoaluminate congeners (C5Me5)Ln(AlMe4)2. The effect of homo- versus heteroaluminate coordination is assessed in the coordinative polymerization of isoprene.