Genetic variation in human NPY expression affects stress response and emotion

Understanding inter-individual differences in stress response requires the explanation of genetic influences at multiple phenotypic levels, including complex behaviours and the metabolic responses of brain regions to emotional stimuli. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is anxiolytic and its release is induced by stress. NPY is abundantly expressed in regions of the limbic system that are implicated in arousal and in the assignment of emotional valences to stimuli and memories. Here we show that haplotype-driven NPY expression predicts brain responses to emotional and stress challenges and also inversely correlates with trait anxiety. NPY haplotypes predicted levels of NPY messenger RNA in post-mortem brain and lymphoblasts, and levels of plasma NPY. Lower haplotype-driven NPY expression predicted higher emotion-induced activation of the amygdala, as well as diminished resiliency as assessed by pain/stress-induced activations of endogenous opioid neurotransmission in various brain regions. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP rs16147) located in the promoter region alters NPY expression in vitro and seems to account for more than half of the variation in expression in vivo. These convergent findings are consistent with the function of NPY as an anxiolytic peptide and help to explain inter-individual variation in resiliency to stress, a risk factor for many diseases.     

Boundary layer flow and heat transfer of a micropolar fluid near the stagnation point on a stretching vertical surface with prescribed skin friction

The steady laminar mixed convection boundary layer flow and heat transfer of a micropolar fluid near the stagnation point on a stretched vertical surface with prescribed skin friction were considered. The governing partial differential equations were transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations, which were then solved numerically using the shooting method. Results for the stretching velocity, the local Nusselt number, the temperature, and the velocity profiles are presented for various values of the mixed convection parameter λ and material parameter K when the Prandtl number is equal to 1. Both assisting (heated plate) and opposing (cooled plate) flow regions are considered. It is found that dual solutions exist for both assisting and opposing flows.     

Observation of a roton collective mode in a two-dimensional Fermi liquid

Understanding the dynamics of correlated many-body quantum systems is a challenge for modern physics. Owing to the simplicity of their Hamiltonians, (4)He (bosons) and (3)He (fermions) have served as model systems for strongly interacting quantum fluids, with substantial efforts devoted to their understanding. An important milestone was the direct observation of the collective phonon-roton mode in liquid (4)He by neutron scattering, verifying Landau's prediction and his fruitful concept of elementary excitations. In a Fermi system, collective density fluctuations (known as 'zero-sound' in (3)He, and 'plasmons' in charged systems) and incoherent particle-hole excitations are observed. At small wavevectors and energies, both types of excitation are described by Landau's theory of Fermi liquids. At higher wavevectors, the collective mode enters the particle-hole band, where it is strongly damped. The dynamics of Fermi liquids at high wavevectors was thus believed to be essentially incoherent. Here we report inelastic neutron scattering measurements of a monolayer of liquid (3)He, observing a roton-like excitation. We find that the collective density mode reappears as a well defined excitation at momentum transfers larger than twice the Fermi momentum. We thus observe unexpected collective behaviour of a Fermi many-body system in the regime beyond the scope of Landau's theory. A satisfactory interpretation of the measured spectra is obtained using a dynamic many-body theory.     

在有限温度下两个比特Heisenberg XX链中的各种量子关联

文章主要研究在有限温度下两个比特海森堡XX自旋链中Z方向的Dzyaloshinskii-Morriya(D-M)相互作用(Dz)和耦合常数(J)对各种量子关联的影响。研究发现在有限温度下不加Dz时经典关联(CC)和量子失协(QD)都随温度的提高而下降,下降速度也比较快。加了Dz时也是随温度的提高而下降,但是下降速度较慢。从计算分析看,在有限温度下Dz和J对QD和CC有积极作用。调整适当的Dz和J参数,可以有效地控制和提高各种量子关联。     

CLM4.5对中国区域夏季土壤湿度的模拟研究

利用CESM(Community Earth System Model)框架最新发布的陆面模式CLM4.5模拟得到中国区域1991~2010年7月份0~10 cm的土壤湿度数据集;并以中国农作物生长发育和农田土壤湿度旬值数据集的土壤湿度作为实测值,与模拟结果进行了比较分析。结果表明CLM4.5能够揭示中国区域7月份0~10 cm土壤湿度的空间分布特征,与实测数据土壤湿度的年际变化趋势保持着较好的一致性。利用曼-肯德尔法进行突变现象检测表明,模拟和实测得到的二十年的土壤湿度在华北、东北地区有逐年减小的趋势,尤其是东北地区土壤变干现象尤为明显;而华东、华中地区的土壤湿度以2~3年为周期增减,并没有一个持续稳定的变化趋势。CLM4.5模拟的土壤湿度值普遍偏高,最大偏差超过0.1 mm3·mm-3,这可能与模式的参数化方案有关,在以今后的研究中有待进一步探索。     

用三比特海森堡XXZ自旋环实现量子隐形传态

文章主要研究固有退相干对以三比特海森堡XXX自旋链为量子信道进行隐形传态的影响.通过平均保真度的解析表达式分析了不同参数对量子隐形传态的作用,均匀磁场B对隐形传态起积极作用.在这个模型中实现隐形传态的要求不是那么严格,只有B≤J和J取较大的值,AF处在经典情况.B和J取其它数值时,平均保真度符合于我们所期望的结果.     

Flavonoid wing pigments in grasshoppers

Yellow pigments extracted from the hindwings ofDissoteira carolina (L.) (Acrididae:Oedipodinae) were identified by HPLC, GLC, MS and absorbance spectra as primarily quercetin and quercetin--3-O-glucoside with minor amounts of luteolin. These flavonoids make up about 2% of the hindwing live weight and are also abundant in the yellow hindwings of several related species of band-winged grasshoppers. Fat body UDPG glucosyltransferase preferentially catalyzed glucosylation of the 3-OH of quercetin.     

A single-step synthesis of nitrogen-doped graphene sheets decorated withcobalt hydroxide nanoflakes for the determination of dopamine

Nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide(NrGO)sheets decorated with Co(OH)_2nanoflakes were prepared by a single-step hydrothermal process.The morphological and structural characterizations of as synthesized Nr GO@Co(OH)_2nanoflakes were performed by field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM),EDX-mapping and X-ray diffraction(XRD).Nr GO@Co(OH)_2nanoflakes modified glassy carbon electrode(GCE)was used for electrochemical sensing of dopamine in neutral medium.The nanocomposite modified electrode showed enhanced electrochemical sensing ability for the detection of dopamine and the limit of detection(Lo D)was found to be 0.201μM with a sensitivity value of 0.0286±0.002 m A m M~(-1).Interference studies revealed that Nr GO@Co(OH)_2─GCE endow excellent selectivity for DA detection even in the presence of higher concentration of common co-existing physiological interfering analytes.Additionally,proposed sensor demonstrated excellent performance in urine samples with promising reproducibility and stability.     

Transmit Power Optimization for Relay-Aided Multi-Carrier D2D Communication

In this paper,we consider the power optimization problem in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing(OFDM)-based relay-enhanced device-to-device(D2D) communication.In a single cell transmission scenario,dualhop communication is assumed in which each D2D user re-uses the spectrum of just one Cellular User(CU).In this work,we formulate a joint optimization scheme under a Decode-and-Forward(DF) relaying protocol to maximize the sum throughput of D2D and cellular networks via power allocation over different sub-carriers.The problem is thus transformed into a standard convex optimization,subject to individual power constraints at different transmitting nodes.We exploit the duality theory to decompose the problem into several sub-problems and use Karush–Kuhn–Tucker(KKT) conditions to solve each sub-problem.We provide simulation results to validate the performance of our proposed scheme.