Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating condition with no known effective treatment. AD is characterized by memory loss as well as impaired locomotor ability, reasoning, and judgment. Emerging ...evidence suggests that the innate immune response plays a major role in the pathogenesis of AD. In AD, the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain perturbs physiological functions of the brain, including synaptic and neuronal dysfunction, microglial activation, and neuronal loss. Serum levels of soluble ST2 (sST2), a decoy receptor for interleukin (IL)-33, increase in patients with mild cognitive impairment, suggesting that impaired IL-33/ST2 signaling may contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. Therefore, we investigated the potential therapeutic role of IL-33 in AD, using transgenic mouse models. Here we report that IL-33 administration reverses synaptic plasticity impairment and memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice. IL-33 administration reduces soluble Aβ levels and amyloid plaque deposition by promoting the recruitment and Aβ phagocytic activity of microglia; this is mediated by ST2/p38 signaling activation. Furthermore, IL-33 injection modulates the innate immune response by polarizing microglia/macrophages toward an antiinflammatory phenotype and reducing the expression of proinflammatory genes, including IL-1β, IL-6, and NLRP3, in the cortices of APP/PS1 mice. Collectively, our results demonstrate a potential therapeutic role for IL-33 in AD.
Generating ion-photon entanglement is a crucial step for scalable trapped-ion quantum networks. To avoid the crosstalk on memory qubits carrying quantum information, it is common to use a different ...ion species for ion-photon entanglement generation such that the scattered photons are far off-resonant for the memory qubits. However, such a dual-species scheme can be subject to inefficient sympathetic cooling due to the mass mismatch of the ions. Here we demonstrate a trapped-ion quantum network node in the dual-type qubit scheme where two types of qubits are encoded in the S and F hyperfine structure levels of
Yb
ions. We generate ion photon entanglement for the S-qubit in a typical timescale of hundreds of milliseconds, and verify its small crosstalk on a nearby F-qubit with coherence time above seconds. Our work demonstrates an enabling function of the dual-type qubit scheme for scalable quantum networks.
We study the process e^{+}e^{-}→Λ_{c}^{+}Λover ¯_{c}^{-} at twelve center-of-mass energies from 4.6119 to 4.9509 GeV using data samples collected by the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The ...Born cross sections and effective form factors (|G_{eff}|) are determined with unprecedented precision after combining the single and double-tag methods based on the decay process Λ_{c}^{+}→pK^{-}π^{+}. Flat cross sections around 4.63 GeV are obtained and no indication of the resonant structure Y(4630), as reported by Belle, is found. In addition, no oscillatory behavior is discerned in the |G_{eff}| energy dependence of Λ_{c}^{+}, in contrast to what is seen for the proton and neutron cases. Analyzing the cross section together with the polar-angle distribution of the Λ_{c}^{+} baryon at each energy point, the moduli of electric and magnetic form factors (|G_{E}| and |G_{M}|) are extracted and separated. For the first time, the energy dependence of the form factor ratio |G_{E}/G_{M}| is observed, which can be well described by an oscillatory function.
The intrinsic magnetic topological insulatorMnBi2Te4exhibits rich topological effects such as quantum anomalous Hall effect and axion electrodynamics. Here, by combining the use of synchrotron and ...laser light sources, we carry out comprehensive and high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy studies onMnBi2Te4and clearly identify its topological electronic structure. In contrast to theoretical predictions and previous studies, we observe topological surface states with diminished gap forming a characteristic Dirac cone. We argue that the topological surface states are mediated by multidomains of different magnetization orientations. In addition, the temperature evolution of the energy bands clearly reveals their interplay with the magnetic phase transition by showing interesting differences between the bulk and surface states, respectively. The investigation of the detailed electronic structure ofMnBi2Te4and its temperature evolution provides important insight into not only the exotic properties ofMnBi2Te4, but also the generic understanding of the interplay between magnetism and topological electronic structure in magnetic topological quantum materials.
Abstract
PSR J2150+3427 is a 0.654 s pulsar discovered by the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey. From the follow-up observations, we find that the pulsar is in a highly eccentric orbit (
e
= ...0.601) with an orbital period of 10.592 days and a projected semimajor axis of 25.488 lt-s. Using 2.7 yr of timing data, we also measured the rate of periastron advance
ω
̇
= 0.0115(4) deg yr
−1
. An estimate for the total mass of the system using the
ω
̇
gives
M
tot
= 2.59(13)
M
⊙
, which is consistent with most of the known double neutron star (DNS) systems and one neutron star (NS)–white dwarf (WD) system named B2303+46. Combining
ω
̇
with the mass function of the system gives the masses of
M
p
< 1.67 and
M
c
> 0.98
M
⊙
for the pulsar and the companion star, respectively. This constraint, along with the spin period and orbital parameters, suggests that it is possibly a DNS system, and we cannot entirely rule out the possibility of an NS–WD system. Future timing observations will vastly improve the uncertainty in
ω
̇
, and are likely to allow the detection of additional relativistic effects, which can be used to modify the values of
M
p
and
M
c
. With a spin-down luminosity of
E
̇
= 5.07(6) × 10
29
erg s
−1
, PSR J2150+3427 is a very low-luminosity pulsar, with only the binary pulsar J2208+4610 having a smaller
E
̇
.
A reproducible stationary high-confinement regime with small "edge-localized modes" (ELMs) has been achieved recently in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, which has a metal wall and ...low plasma rotation as projected for a fusion reactor. We have uncovered that this small ELM regime is enabled by a wide edge transport barrier (pedestal) with a low density gradient and a high density ratio between the pedestal foot and top. Nonlinear simulations reveal, for the first time, that the underlying mechanism for the observed small ELM crashes is the upper movement of the peeling boundary induced by an initial radially localized collapse in the pedestal, which stops the growth of instabilities and further collapse of the pedestal, thus providing a physics basis for mitigating ELMs in future steady-state fusion reactors.
Inflammatory markers such as interleukin (IL)-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) are elevated in dialysis patients and can predict cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. Endotoxin is ...an important source and also another marker of inflammation in patients with chronic kidney disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of oral probiotics on serum levels of endotoxemia and cytokines in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The decline of residual renal function, peritonitis episodes, and cardiovascular events were also recorded. From July 2011 to June 2012, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in PD patients. The intervention group received one capsule of probiotics containing 109 cfu Bifobacterium bifidum A218, 109 cfu Bifidobacterium catenulatum A302, 109 cfu Bifidobacterium longum A101, and 109 cfu Lactobacillus plantarum A87 daily for six months, while the placebo group received similar capsules containing maltodextrin for the same duration. Levels of serum TNF-α, interferon gamma, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, and endotoxin were measured before and six months after intervention. 39 patients completed the study (21 in the probiotics group and 18 in the placebo group). In patients receiving probiotics, levels of serum TNF-α, IL-5, IL-6, and endotoxin significantly decreased after six months of treatment, while levels of serum IL-10 significantly increased. In contrast, there were no significant changes in levels of serum cytokines and endotoxin in the placebo group after six months. In addition, the residual renal function was preserved in patients receiving probiotics. In conclusion, probiotics could significantly reduce the serum levels of endotoxin, pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6), IL-5, increase the serum levels of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10), and preserve residual renal function in PD patients.
Intense lasers can accelerate electrons to very high energy over a short distance. Such compact accelerators have several potential applications including fast ignition, high energy physics, and ...radiography. Among the various schemes of laser-based electron acceleration, vacuum laser acceleration has the merits of super-high acceleration gradient and great simplicity. Yet its realization has been difficult because injecting free electrons into the fast-oscillating laser field is not trivial. Here we demonstrate free-electron injection and subsequent vacuum laser acceleration of electrons up to 20 MeV using the relativistic transparency effect. When a high-contrast intense laser drives a thin solid foil, electrons from the dense opaque plasma are first accelerated to near-light speed by the standing laser wave in front of the solid foil and subsequently injected into the transmitted laser field as the opaque plasma becomes relativistically transparent. It is possible to further optimize the electron injection/acceleration by manipulating the laser polarization, incident angle, and temporal pulse shaping. Our result also sheds light on the fundamental relativistic transparency process, crucial for producing secondary particle and light sources.
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