Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “nucleus”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 523 records · Page 29

TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling and PPAR-γ within the paraventricular nucleus are involved in the effects of telmisartan in hypertension

Previous findings from our laboratory and others indicate that the main therapeutic effect of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-R) antagonists is to decrease blood pressure and exert anti-inflammatory effects in the cardiovascular system. In this study, we determined whether AT1-R antagonist telmisartan within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) attenuates hypertension and hypothalamic inflammation via both the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) in the PVN in hypertensive rats. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were treated for 4 weeks through bilateral PVN infusion with the AT1-R antagonist telmisartan (TEL, 10 μg/h), or losartan (LOS, 20 μg/h), or the PPAR-γ antagonist GW9662 (GW, 100 μg/h), or vehicle via osmotic minipump. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was recorded by a tail-cuff occlusion method. PVN tissue and blood were collected for the measurement of AT1-R, PPAR-γ, pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), TLR4, MyD88, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activity and plasma norepinephrine (NE), respectively. Hypertensive rats exhibited significantly higher level of AT1-R and lower level of PPAR-γ in the PVN. PVN treatment with TEL attenuated MAP, improved cardiac hypertrophy, reduced TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, iNOS levels, and plasma NE in SHR but not in WKY rats. These results were associated with reduced TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB levels and increased PPAR-γ level in the PVN of hypertensive rats. Our findings suggest that TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling and PPAR-γ within the PVN are involved in the beneficial effects of telmisartan in hypertension. - Highlights: • PVN infusion of TEL in spontaneously hypertensive rats is reported. • PVN infusion of TEL attenuates hypertension and proinflammatory cytokines in PVN. • PVN blockade of AT1-R attenuates sympathoexcitation and cardiac hypertrophy. • TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling and PPAR-γ in PVN are involved in the effects of TEL.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Bromodomain-containing protein 7 regulates matrix metabolism and apoptosis in human nucleus pulposus cells through the BRD7-PI3K-YAP1 signaling axis

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) results from dysregulated metabolism of the extracellular matrix of the nucleus pulposus (NP) and involves the participation of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α. Bromodomain-containing protein 7 (BRD7) shows considerable potential for anti-inflammatory applications. Herein, we investigated the role of BRD7 in IDD. The immunohistochemistry results demonstrated decreased BRD7 expression in severely degenerated human NP tissues compared to those showing mild degeneration. Lentiviruses and adenoviruses were used to knock down or overexpress BRD7 and YAP1, respectively. Our results revealed that BRD7 knockdown promoted matrix degradation and suppressed PI3K and YAP1 expression, while BRD7 overexpression alleviated matrix degradation and promoted YAP1 and PI3K expression. In addition, PI3K inhibition augmented matrix degradation, enhanced apoptosis, and reduced YAP1 expression, whereas YAP1 overexpression promoted matrix synthesis, suppressed apoptosis and promoted PI3K expression. Besides, BRD7 overexpression reversed the reductions in sulfated glycosaminoglycan levels induced by TNF-α, but this effect was blocked by PI3K or YAP1 inhibitors. Moreover, YAP1 and PI3K were shown to interact through coimmunoprecipitation analysis. In summary, our results demonstrate that BRD7 can regulate matrix metabolism and apoptosis in human NP cells through the BRD7-PI3K-YAP1 signaling axis. This study might provide new insights into the prevention and treatment of IDD.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Interface Nucleus Templating of Modular Intermetallic Morphologies: Chemical Pressure Complementarity, Columnar Domains, and Complex Disorder in Y 13 Ag 42.7 Zn 29.7

One element of the diversity of intermetallic phases is the formation of complex structures from the assembly of fragments of simpler structures. Recently, we devised the Interface Nuclear Approach as a model for understanding such modular arrangements, in which the intergrowth of different structures is driven by chemical pressure (CP) relief at shared motifs at the domain interfaces, referred to as interface nuclei. In this Article, we present the synthesis, crystal structure, and CP analysis of a new compound that expands on this theme, Y 13 Ag 42.7 Zn 29.7 . Its hexagonal structure contains interpenetrating domains based on the CaPd 5+x and EuMg 5 types. The CaPd 5+x -based regions are reminiscent of the lamellar intergrowth structures previously observed in the Y−Ag−Zn system. In Y 13 Ag 42.7 Zn 29.7 , however, the domains have a different morphology, forming columns that adopt a hexagonal rod-packing. The geometrical features of the remaining spaces are assigned, using the program GrowDomain, to the cores of trigonal units of the EuMg 5 type, while layers of disordered atoms occur at heights along z where the parent structures are mismatched. At the CaPd 5+x -type/EuMg 5 -type interfaces, simple interface nucleus motifs with strong CP-complementarity can be identified, while their distribution within the parent structures supports the notion of templated architectures in modular intermetallics.

Chemical structure↗

Electron–Nucleus Hyperfine Coupling Calculated from Restricted Active Space Wavefunctions and an Exact Two-Component Hamiltonian

Exact two-component (X2C) relativistic nuclear hyperfine magnetic field operators were incorporated in X2C ab-initio wavefunction calculations at the multi-reference restricted active space (RAS) level for calculations of nuclear hyperfine magnetic properties. Spin-orbit coupling was treated via RAS state interaction (SO-RASSI). The method was tested by calculations of electron – nucleus hyperfine coupling constants. The approach, implemented in the OpenMolcas program, overcomes a major limitation of a previous SO-RASSI implementation for hyperfine coupling that relied on non-relativistic hyperfine operators [J. Chem. Theor. Comput. 2015, 11, 538–549] and therefore had only limited applicability. Furthermore, results from calculations on systems with light and heavy main group elements, transition metals, lanthanides, and one actinide complex, demonstrate reasonably good agreement with experimental data, where available, as long as the active space can generate sufficient spin polarization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Effects from Spin–Orbit Coupling on Electron–Nucleus Hyperfine Coupling Calculated at the Restricted Active Space Level for Kramers Doublets

Calculations of electron–nucleus hyperfine coupling were implemented at the restricted active space state interaction (RASSI) level to treat spin–orbit (SO) coupling, based on scalar relativistic restricted active space wave functions. The current implementation is suitable for light atomic systems, for light ligand atoms in heavy metal complexes, and for spin–orbit coupling-induced hyperfine coupling of heavy atoms if the unpaired electrons are described by orbitals with high angular momentum. Spin polarization is reasonably well treated by allowing one hole and one electron in a window of active orbitals (‘ras1’, ‘ras3’) surrounding the principal active space (‘ras2’). A benchmark set of Kramers doublet states of molecules with light and heavy atoms is used to evaluate the approach and verify the implementation. For NpF 6 , the impact of SO coupling on the Np and F hyperfine coupling tensors is investigated in detail. It is demonstrated that the Np hyperfine coupling is strongly dominated by SO effects, that there is a large SO effect on the F hyperfine tensor components, and that SO coupling causes the fluorine dipolar term to acquire an isotropic component.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A doubly magic nucleus that has two faces

The neutron-rich nickel nucleus 78 Ni is difficult to excite and, once excited, has competing spherical and deformed shapes.. These intriguing properties make 78 Ni a valuable testing ground for nuclear theory.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Emergent geometry and duality in the carbon nucleus

Abstract The carbon atom provides the backbone for the complex organic chemistry composing the building blocks of life. The physics of the carbon nucleus in its predominant isotope, 12 C, is similarly full of multifaceted complexity. Here we provide a model-independent density map of the geometry of the nuclear states of 12 C using the ab initio framework of nuclear lattice effective field theory. We find that the well-known but enigmatic Hoyle state is composed of a “bent-arm” or obtuse triangular arrangement of alpha clusters. We identify all of the low-lying nuclear states of 12 C as having an intrinsic shape composed of three alpha clusters forming either an equilateral triangle or an obtuse triangle. The states with the equilateral triangle formation also have a dual description in terms of particle-hole excitations in the mean-field picture.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Systematic Comparison of High-throughput Single-Cell and Single-Nucleus Transcriptomes during Cardiomyocyte Differentiation

A comprehensive reference map of all cell types in the human body is necessary for improving our understanding of fundamental biological processes and in diagnosing and treating disease. High-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing techniques have emerged as powerful tools to identify and characterize cell types in complex and heterogeneous tissues. However, extracting intact cells from tissues and organs is often technically challenging or impossible, for example in heart or brain tissue. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing provides an alternative way to obtain transcriptome profiles of such tissues. To systematically assess the differences between high-throughput single-cell and single-nuclei RNA-seq approaches, we compared Drop-seq and DroNc-seq, two microfluidic-based 3' RNA capture technologies that profile total cellular and nuclear RNA, respectively, during a time course experiment of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) differentiating into cardiomyocytes. Clustering of timeseries transcriptomes from Drop-seq and DroNc-seq revealed six distinct cell types, five of which were found in both techniques. Furthermore, single-cell trajectories reconstructed from both techniques reproduced expected differentiation dynamics. We then applied DroNc-seq to postmortem heart tissue to test its performance on heterogeneous human tissue samples. Our data confirm that DroNcseq yields similar results to Drop-seq on matched samples and can be successfully used to generate reference maps for the human cell atlas.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Rapid and multiband variability of the TeV bright active nucleus of the galaxy IC 310

Recently the radio galaxy IC 310 was identified as a γ-ray emitter based on observations at GeV energies with Fermi-LAT and at very high energies (VHE, E > 100 GeV) with the MAGIC telescopes. Originally classified as a head-tail radio galaxy, the nature of this object is subject of controversy since its nucleus shows blazar-like behavior. In order to understand the nature of IC 310 and the origin of the VHE emission, we studied the spectral and flux variability of IC 310 from the X-ray band to the VHE γ-ray regime. The light curve of IC 310 above 300 GeV has been measured with the MAGIC telescopes from 2009 October to 2010 February. Contemporaneous Fermi-LAT data (2008-2011) in the 10-500 GeV energy range were also analyzed. In the X-ray regime, archival observations from 2003 to 2007 with XMM-Newton, Chandra, and Swift-XRT in the 0.5-10 keV band were studied. The VHE light curve reveals several high-amplitude and short-duration flares. Day-to-day flux variability is clearly present (>5σ). The photon index between 120 GeV and 8 TeV remains at the value Γ ~ 2.0 during both low and high flux states. The VHE spectral shape does not show significant variability, whereas the flux at 1 TeV changes by a factor of ~7. Fermi-LAT detected only eight γ-ray events in the energy range 10 GeV–500 GeV in three years of observation. Moreover, the measured photon index of Γ = 1.3 ± 0.5 in the Fermi-LAT range is very hard. The X-ray measurements show strong variability in both flux and photon index. The latter varied from 1.76 ± 0.07 to 2.55 ± 0.07. The rapid variability measured in γ-rays and X-rays confirms the blazar-like behavior of IC 310. The multi-TeV γ-ray emission seems to originate from scales of less than 80 Schwarzschild radii (for a black hole mass of 2 × 10 8 M⊙) within the compact core of its FR I radio jet with orientation angle 10°-38°. The spectral energy distribution resembles that of an extreme blazar, albeit the luminosity is more than two orders of magnitude lower.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Active galactic nucleus feedback in NGC 3982

The energetic feedback from supermassive black holes can influence star formation at the centres of galaxies. Observational evidence for active galactic nucleus (AGN) impact on star formation can be searched for in galaxies by combining ultraviolet imaging and optical integral field unit data. The ultraviolet flux directly traces recent star formation, and the integral field unit data can reveal dust attenuation, gas ionisation mechanisms, and gas kinematics from the central regions of the galaxy disk. A pilot study on NGC 3982 shows star formation suppression in the central regions of the galaxy, likely due to negative AGN feedback, and enhanced star formation in the outer regions. The case of NGC 3982 could be observational evidence of AGN feedback operating in a Seyfert galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Gamow-Teller Transitions Starting from T{sub z} = +3/2 Nucleus {sup 47}Ti

Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions are mediated by the {sigma}{tau} operator. Owing to its simplicity and also its spin-isospin nature, GT transitions play key roles in the studies of nuclear structure as well as astro-nuclear processes. In violent neutrino-induced reactions at the core-collapse stage of type II supernovae, Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions starting from stable as well as unstable pf-shell nuclei play important roles. We study GT transitions starting from {sup 47}Ti in a high-resolution ({sup 3}He,t) charge-exchange reactions at 0 deg. and at an intermediate incident energy of 140 MeV/nucleon at Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka. Individual GT transitions up to high excitations were observed. Assuming the isospin symmetry for the strengths of T{sub z} = {+-}3/2{yields}{+-}1/2 analogous GT transitions, we can deduce the detailed strength distribution starting from mirror unstable nucleus {sup 47}Mn.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

A Recoil-Beta Tagging Study of N = Z nucleus {sup 66}As

A Recoil-Beta Tagging (RBT) experiment was recently performed at the accelerator laboratory at the University of Jyvaeskylae in order to identify T = 1 excited states in the medium-heavy N = Z = 33 nucleus {sup 66}As. The fusion-evaporation reaction {sup 28}Si({sup 40}Ca,pn){sup 66}As was employed at a beam energy of 75 MeV. The experiment was carried out utilising the JUROGAM II {gamma}-ray spectrometer in conjunction with the gas-filled recoil separator RITU and the GREAT focal plane spectrometer system. The half-lives and ordering of the two known isomeric states in {sup 66}As have been determined. In addition, several new prompt {gamma}-ray transitions from excited states both bypassing and decaying to the isomeric states in {sup 66}As have been observed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

{gamma}-Spectroscopy of Positive Parity Bands In The {sup 156}Gd Nucleus

During an experiment at Jyvaeskylae laboratory involving a 27 MeV {alpha} beam on a thick {sup 154}Sm target, {gamma}-spectroscopy of {sup 156}Gd was performed using JUROGAM HPGe multidetector array. We will present here experimental results concerning positive parity bands of this nucleus. Level scheme was enriched with more than ten new transitions as well as a new level in a band observed recently.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Lepton event rates in neutrino-nucleus DIS

In this work we have studied the nuclear effect in F{sub 2}{sup A}(x) and F{sub 3}{sup A}(x) weak structure functions and calculated {nu}-nucleus cross section using them by taking into account Fermi motion, binding energy, pion and rho meson cloud contributions and shadowing and anti-shadowing effects. The numerical calculations have been performed in a local density approximation using relativistic nuclear spectral functions which include nucleon correlations for nuclear matter. The results have been compared with the experimental results of NuTeV and CDHSW collaborations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Electron-Nucleus Scattering Process at Intermediate Energy Transfers

Many-body approach to the lepton-nucleus scattering is being tested. Preliminary results containing the 1p1h and {Delta}(1232)h excitations from local Fermi gas are shown. Comparisons are made with the selected inclusive electron scattering data. The importance of the different physical channels is discussed. The main attention is paid to the lepton energy range from about 500 to 2000 MeV, which is crucial for the present T2K and future NOvA neutrino oscillation experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Neutrino-Nucleus Reactions at MeV Region based on New Shell-Model Hamiltonians

Neutrino-nucleus reactions at MeV region are evaluated by using new shell model Hamiltonians, which are found to improve the description of spin degrees of freedom in nuclei as well as shell evolutions. The light element synthesis by neutrino processes in supernova explosions is discussed with the use of the new reaction cross sections for {sup 12}C and {sup 4}He. Possible constraints on the mixing angle {theta}{sub 13} and the neutrino mass hierarchy are pointed out to be imposed by the production yields of {sup 7}Li and {sup 11}B. Spin-dipole transition strengths in {sup 16}O and neutrino-induced reactions on {sup 16}O are investigated with the new improved Hamiltonian. The Gamow-Teller transition strength in {sup 56}Ni for the new Hamiltonian, which is more fragmented compared to previous calculations, is found to lead to the enhancement of the production yield of {sup 55}Mn in population III stars.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Lifetime measurement in the proton-unbound nucleus {sup 109}I

The Recoil-Distance Doppler-shift method has been combined with Recoil-Decay Tagging for the first time to measure a lifetime in the proton-unbound nucleus {sup 109}I. The lifetime value was determined using the Differential Decay-Curve method in singles mode. The result has been compared to theoretical shell-model calculations in order to better understand the nature of unbound valence nucleons at the proton drip line.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Pairing phenomenon in doubly odd neutron rich {sup 136}Sb nucleus

Based on p-n and n-n pairing gap energies giving by K. Kaneko et al. (2003), we make modifications on the kh5082 interaction. Calculations and study of some nuclear properties for {sup 136}Sb nucleus are developed in the framework of the nuclear shell model by means of OXBASH structure code. We get the same energetic sequence as the recent experimental values of single particle energies. The effective charge values e{sub p}=1.35e and e{sub n}=0.9e, and factors given by V. I. Isakov are used to evaluate multipole electromagnetic moments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗