This article reports world averages of measurements of
b
-hadron,
c
-hadron, and
τ
-lepton properties obtained by the Heavy Flavor Averaging Group using results available through summer 2016. For the ...averaging, common input parameters used in the various analyses are adjusted (rescaled) to common values, and known correlations are taken into account. The averages include branching fractions, lifetimes, neutral meson mixing parameters,
C
P
violation parameters, parameters of semileptonic decays, and Cabbibo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix elements.
A decrease in adult hippocampal neurogenesis has been linked to age-related cognitive impairment. However, the mechanisms involved in this age-related reduction remain elusive. Glucocorticoid ...hormones (GC) are important regulators of neural stem/precursor cells (NSPC) proliferation. GC are released from the adrenal glands in ultradian secretory pulses that generate characteristic circadian oscillations. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that GC oscillations prevent NSPC activation and preserve a quiescent NSPC pool in the aging hippocampus. We found that hippocampal NSPC populations lacking expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) decayed exponentially with age, while GR-positive populations decayed linearly and predominated in the hippocampus from middle age onwards. Importantly, GC oscillations controlled NSPC activation and GR knockdown reactivated NSPC proliferation in aged mice. When modeled in primary hippocampal NSPC cultures, GC oscillations control cell cycle progression and induce specific genome-wide DNA methylation profiles. GC oscillations induced lasting changes in the methylation state of a group of gene promoters associated with cell cycle regulation and the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Finally, in a mouse model of accelerated aging, we show that disruption of GC oscillations induces lasting changes in dendritic complexity, spine numbers and morphology of newborn granule neurons. Together, these results indicate that GC oscillations preserve a population of GR-expressing NSPC during aging, preventing their activation possibly by epigenetic programming through methylation of specific gene promoters. Our observations suggest a novel mechanism mediated by GC that controls NSPC proliferation and preserves a dormant NSPC pool, possibly contributing to a neuroplasticity reserve in the aging brain.
Organic Electrochemical Transistors (OECTs) are emerging devices that find applications as sensors because they offer amazing features such as intrinsic signal amplification, low energy consumption, ...low cost and easy adaptability to new and unconventional architectures. The signal transduction usually exploits a redox reaction as happens in a common amperometric sensor, but the channel of the transistor is able to amplify this signal. This paper aims to thoroughly investigate the amplification of Faradaic currents in OECT sensors that exploit PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrene sulfonate)) as semiconductor material in the channel and electrochemical transducer. The devices were fabricated with different geometries and thicknesses of PEDOT:PSS in order to find the best configuration. The amplification was studied in phosphate buffer solution as electrolyte by determining the OECT transconductance. A thick PEDOT:PSS layer and a high ratio between gate and channel areas ensure the best performance from an electrical point of view. The amplification was also studied while the OECTs work as chemical sensors for the detection of ascorbic acid. The highest gain was observed for the thickest PEDOT:PSS channel and the lowest ratio between the gate and the channel areas. Moreover, the gate voltage has an important effect on the transistor amplification, being the gain highest (of about 2 orders of magnitude) for the lowest gate voltage.
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The number of bridges approaching or exceeding their initial design life has been increasing dramatically. Meanwhile, bridges are withstanding an ever-increasing traffic volume, both in number and ...weight of vehicles. Analytical and numerical models can predict bridges’ response to traffic loads and their ultimate capacity with low uncertainties; however, such uncertainties increase as bridges age due to deterioration mechanisms. Non-destructive tests of material specimens and full-scale load tests allow for updating structural models and predicting bridges’ responses with higher accuracy. On-site load tests with different load levels provide different information on the bridge behaviour (e.g., elastic response, first-crack load, and ultimate capacity), which impact the model updating differently. This paper compares the observed response of the Alveo Vecchio viaduct, a prestressed concrete (PC) bridge subjected to a controlled load test up to its failure, with its predicted response provided by four structural models. The observed response is measured by an extensive structural health monitoring system, while the structural models are developed with different levels of refinement and uncertainty in the input parameters. This study gives an insight into the ultimate load-carrying capacity of existing PC bridges and their behaviour during a whole load test to failure. The results show that the load-carry capacity of the Alveo Vecchio viaduct is almost four times higher than the design load; likely, many other Italian highway bridges with similar structural characteristics have a similar capacity.
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•Preparation of highly conductive polyaniline-coated cellulose sheets.•Fabrication of capacitive touch sensors via a simple, inexpensive and robust method.•Scalable industrial process ...for paper-based touch sensors.•Easy touch sensor sensibility modulation through tailor-made geometry.
In this work we present a simple, inexpensive, and easily scalable industrial paper process to prepare sheets of conductive cellulose fibers coated with polyanilines. First, bare fibers were coated by in situ oxidative polymerization of polyaniline then, the resulting composite fibers were used to fabricate electroactive sheets. The resistivity of the sheets is 14 ± 1 Ω sq−1, a value around 1000 times lower than those reported in literature. The superior electronic proprieties of the sheets were demonstrated by assembling a capacitive touch sensor device with optimized geometry. The touch sensor shows an increase of 3–4 % of the starting electric capacity after compression and a fast response time of 52 ms. To our knowledge this is the first time that a device is prepared in this way and therefore, the herein presented results can bring an significant improvement in the development of low-cost, green and high-tech electronic devices.
Thin films of controlled thickness of Co/Al layered double hydroxide with different Co and Al percentages have been electrosynthesized by the cathodic reduction of a 0.03
M Co and Al nitrate ...solution. The electrochemical behaviour of the films deposited on Pt or ITO electrodes has been deeply studied in 0.1
M NaOH solution. Our findings demonstrate that as soon as a potential is applied in the anodic direction, the films undergo an irreversible change of phase.
This paper reports world averages of measurements of b-hadron, c-hadron, and τ-lepton properties obtained by the Heavy Flavour Averaging Group using results available through September 2018. In rare ...cases, significant results obtained several months later are also used. For the averaging, common input parameters used in the various analyses are adjusted (rescaled) to common values, and known correlations are taken into account. The averages include branching fractions, lifetimes, neutral meson mixing parameters, CP violation parameters, parameters of semileptonic decays, and Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix elements.
A cheap amperometric and optical sensor for glucose, based on an ITO electrode coated with electrodeposited Co/Al hydrotalcite (HT) is described. Cobalt based HT shows a reversible electrochromic ...behavior which can be exploited for the development of an optical sensor. Working in the optical mode, the linearity range of the sensor is between 0.008 and 0.13 mM with a sensitivity of 1.14 mM−1⋅cm−2, whereas when working in the amperometric mode, the linearity ranges from 0.002 to 1.5 mM with a sensitivity of 4.24×10−4 A⋅mM−1⋅cm−2. The sensor has been successfully employed for the determination of glucose in a serum sample.
The precise mechanisms by which microRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the dynamic regulation of gene expression during the forebrain development are still partly elusive. Here we show that the depletion ...of miRNAs in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, via genetic inactivation of Dicer after the onset of forebrain neurogenesis, profoundly impairs the morphological and proliferative characteristics of neural stem and progenitor cells. The cytoarchitecture and self-renewal potential of radial glial (RG) cells located within the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus were profoundly altered, thus causing a significant derangement of both the post natal dorsal sub-ventricular zone and the dentate gyrus. This effect was attributed to the High-temperature requirement A serine peptidase 1 (HtrA1) gene product whose overexpression in the developing forebrain recapitulated some of the aspects of the Dicer(-/-) phenotype. MiR-30e and miR-181d were identified as posttranscriptional negative regulators of HtrA1 by binding to its 3' untranslated region. In vivo overexpression of miR-30e and miR-181d in Dicer(-/-) forebrain rescued RG proliferation defects.
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