| 1. |
- Lundström, Linda, et al.
(author)
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A galanin receptor subtype 1 specific agonist
- 2005
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In: International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-3904 .- 1573-3149. ; 11:1, s. 17-27
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The chimeric peptide M617, galanin(1–13)-Gln14-bradykinin(2–9)amide, is a novel galanin receptor ligand with increased subtype specificity for GalR1 and agonistic activity in cultured cells as well as in vivo. Displacement studies on cell membranes expressing hGalR1 or hGalR2 show the presence of a high affinity binding site for M617 on GalR1 (K i=0.23±.12 nM) while lower affinity was seen towards GalR2 (K i=5.71±1.28 nM) resulting in 25-fold specificity for GalR1. Activation of GalR1 upon stimulation with M617 is further confirmed by internalization of a GalR1-EGFP conjugate. Intracellular signaling studies show the ability of M617 to inhibit forskolin stimulated cAMP formation with 57% and to produce a 5-fold increase in inositol phosphate (IP) accumulation. Agonistic effects on signal transduction are shown on both receptors studied after treatment with M617 in the presence of galanin. In noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons, M617 induces an outward current even in the presence of TTX plus Ca2+, high Mg2+, suggesting a postsynaptic effect. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of M617 dose-dependently stimulates food uptake in rats while, in contrast, M35 completely fails to affect the feeding behavior. Spinal cord flexor reflex is facilitated by intrathecal (i.t.) administration of M617 as well as galanin with no significant change upon pre-treatment with M617. M617 dose dependently antagonizes the spinal cord hyperexcitablility induced by C-fiber conditioning stimulus and does neither enhance nor antagonize the effect of galanin. These data demonstrate a novel galanin receptor ligand with subtype specificity for GalR1 and agonistic activity, both in vitro and in vivo.
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| 2. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(author)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
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The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC
- 2008
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 3:S08002
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is a general-purpose, heavy-ion detector at the CERN LHC which focuses on QCD, the strong-interaction sector of the Standard Model. It is designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at extreme values of energy density and temperature in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Besides running with Pb ions, the physics programme includes collisions with lighter ions, lower energy running and dedicated proton-nucleus runs. ALICE will also take data with proton beams at the top LHC energy to collect reference data for the heavy-ion programme and to address several QCD topics for which ALICE is complementary to the other LHC detectors. The ALICE detector has been built by a collaboration including currently over 1000 physicists and engineers from 105 Institutes in 30 countries, Its overall dimensions are 16 x 16 x 26 m(3) with a total weight of approximately 10 000 t. The experiment consists of 18 different detector systems each with its own specific technology choice and design constraints, driven both by the physics requirements and the experimental conditions expected at LHC. The most stringent design constraint is to cope with the extreme particle multiplicity anticipated in central Pb-Pb collisions. The different subsystems were optimized to provide high-momentum resolution as well as excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a broad range in momentum, up to the highest multiplicities predicted for LHC. This will allow for comprehensive studies of hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collision of heavy nuclei. Most detector systems are scheduled to be installed and ready for data taking by mid-2008 when the LHC is scheduled to start operation, with the exception of parts of the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS), Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) and Electro Magnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). These detectors will be completed for the high-luminosity ion run expected in 2010. This paper describes in detail the detector components as installed for the first data taking in the summer of 2008.
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| 4. |
- Armesto, N., et al.
(author)
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Heavy-ion collisions at the LHC-Last call for predictions
- 2008
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In: Journal of Physics G. - : IOP Publishing. - 0954-3899 .- 1361-6471. ; 35:5, s. 054001-
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This writeup is a compilation of the predictions for the forthcoming Heavy Ion Program at the Large Hadron Collider, as presented at the CERN Theory Institute 'Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC - Last Call for Predictions', held from 14th May to 10th June 2007.
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| 5. |
- Chen, Kang, et al.
(author)
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Immunoglobulin D enhances immune surveillance by activating antimicrobial, proinflammatory and B cell-stimulating programs in basophils
- 2009
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In: Nature Immunology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1529-2908 .- 1529-2916. ; 10:8, s. 121-889
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Immunoglobulin D (IgD) is an enigmatic antibody isotype that mature B cells express together with IgM through alternative RNA splicing. Here we report active T cell-dependent and T cell-independent IgM-to-IgD class switching in B cells of the human upper respiratory mucosa. This process required activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and generated local and circulating IgD-producing plasmablasts reactive to respiratory bacteria. Circulating IgD bound to basophils through a calcium-mobilizing receptor that induced antimicrobial, opsonizing, inflammatory and B cell-stimulating factors, including cathelicidin, interleukin 1 (IL-1), IL-4 and B cell-activating factor (BAFF), after IgD crosslinking. By showing dysregulation of IgD class-switched B cells and 'IgD-armed' basophils in autoinflammatory syndromes with periodic fever, our data indicate that IgD orchestrates an ancestral surveillance system at the interface between immunity and inflammation.
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| 6. |
- Wei, Hong, et al.
(author)
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Propagating Surface Plasmon Induced Photon Emission from Quantum Dots.
- 2009
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In: Nano Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1530-6992 .- 1530-6984. ; 9:Online October 12, 2009, s. 4168-4171
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigate the interaction between propagating surface plasmons in silver nanowires and excitons generated in quantum dots. We show propagating surface plasmons can excite excitons, which results in quantum dot emission. In this process, the energy is directly transferred from the propagating surface plasmons to the excitons without converting to photons. Furthermore, we demonstrate the reverse process where the decay of excitons generates surface plasmons.
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| 7. |
- Yang, Zhilin, et al.
(author)
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Surface enhanced Raman scattering of pyridine adsorbed on Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles
- 2009
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In: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 130:23
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of pyridine adsorbed on Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles has been investigated theoretically with quantum chemical method, generalized Mie theory and three-dimensional finite-difference time domain (3D-FDTD) method. We first studied the influence of the coated Pd on the electronic structure of Au nanoparticle, and compared the electronic structure of Au-20 cluster with that of Au10Pd10 (core/shell) cluster. Second, we studied SERS spectroscopy of pyridine on Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles, which revealed the rate of static chemical enhancement and electromagnetic enhancement in the experimental reports. Third, the influence of the Pd shell thickness to the optical absorption of Au@Pd core/shell nanoparticles was investigated with generalized Mie theory. Fourth, we studied the influence of the shell thickness to the local electric field enhancement with 3D-FDTD method. The theoretical results reveal that the static chemical enhancement and electromagnetic enhancement are in the order of 10 and 10(3), respectively. These theoretical studies promote the deeper understanding of the electronic structure and optical absorption properties of Au@Pd, and the mechanisms for SERS of molecule adsorbed on Au@Pd.
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| 8. |
- Zhu, Changlian, 1964, et al.
(author)
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Erythropoietin improved neurologic outcomes in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
- 2009
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In: Pediatrics. - : American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). - 1098-4275 .- 0031-4005. ; 124:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of erythropoietin in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), by using a randomized, prospective study design. METHODS: A total of 167 term infants with moderate/severe HIE were assigned randomly to receive either erythropoietin (N = 83) or conventional treatment (N = 84). Recombinant human erythropoietin, at either 300 U/kg (N = 52) or 500 U/kg (N = 31), was administered every other day for 2 weeks, starting <48 hours after birth. The primary outcome was death or disability. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed at 18 months of age. RESULTS: Complete outcome data were available for 153 infants. Nine patients dropped out during treatment, and 5 patients were lost to follow-up monitoring. Death or moderate/severe disability occurred for 35 (43.8%) of 80 infants in the control group and 18 (24.6%) of 73 infants in the erythropoietin group (P = .017) at 18 months. The primary outcomes were not different between the 2 erythropoietin doses. Subgroup analyses indicated that erythropoietin improved long-term outcomes only for infants with moderate HIE (P = .001) and not those with severe HIE (P = .227). No negative hematopoietic side effects were observed. CONCLUSION: Repeated, low-dose, recombinant human erythropoietin treatment reduced the risk of disability for infants with moderate HIE, without apparent side effects.
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