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We adapt the local density approximation to add the high-momentum tails (HMTs) to finite nuclei's Slater-determinant momentum distributions. The HMTs are extracted by the extended Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (EBHF) method or by the lowest order cluster approximation. With a correction factor being added to EBHF, it is sufficiently in agreement with the experimental benchmark, i.e., the high-momentum N/Z ratios approximately equal to 1, and the low-momentum N/Z ratios approximately equal to N/Z of the systems. It is also found that the tensor force makes the nucleon-nucleon correlations appear more easily on the nuclear surface region and the percentage of high-momentum (p>300 MeV/c) nucleons, around 17%–18%, independent of isospin asymmetry.

Although the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a vital role in neuropathic pain-related aversion, the underlying mechanisms haven't been fully studied. The mesolimbic dopamine system encodes reward and aversion, and participates in the exacerbation of chronic pain. Therefore, we investigated whether the ACC modulates aversion to neuropathic pain via control of the mesolimbic dopamine system, in a rat model of chronic constriction injury (CCI) to the sciatic nerve. Using anterograde and retrograde tracings, we confirmed that a subgroup of ACC neurons projected to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), which are two crucial nodes of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Combining electrophysiology in juvenile rats 7 days post-CCI, we found that the NAc/VTA-projecting neurons were hyperexcitable after CCI. Chemogenetic inhibition of these projections induced conditioned place preference in young adult rats 10–14 days post-CCI, without modulating the evoked pain threshold, whereas activation of these projections in sham rats mimicked aversive behavior. Furthermore, the function of the ACC projections was probably mediated by NAc D2-type medium spiny neurons and VTA GABAergic neurons. Taken together, our findings suggest that projections from the ACC to the NAc and VTA mediate neuropathic pain-related aversive behavior.

The effects of corticosterone (CORT), a natural glucocorticoid hormone, on ATP-induced currents in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and the underlying signaling mechanism were studied by using patch-clamp techniques. Three types of currents (fast, slow and mixed) were evoked by ATP in cultured DRG neurons. Pretreatment with CORT (0.01–10 μmol/l) for 30 s could inhibit the fast current and the fast component of the mixed current. In contrast, CORT had no significant effect on the slow current evoked by ATP. The inhibitory effects were concentration dependent, reversible and could be blocked by glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486 (10 μmol/l), but not by GDP-β-S (0.2 mmol/l), a blocker of G protein activation. Membrane-impermeable bovine serum albumin-conjugated corticosterone failed to mimic the effects of CORT. The inhibitory effects of CORT on ATP-induced currents diminished after adding protein kinase A inhibitor H89 (10 μmol/l), but were not influenced by protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine chloride (10 μmol/l). These results suggest that glucocorticoid hormones might participate in the control of pain by modulating P2X3 receptor-mediated events in sensory neurons, and the effect is mediated by glucocorticoid receptors and the downstream activation of protein kinase A. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Graptopetalum paraguayense E. Walther is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. In our previous study, 50% ethanolic G. paraguayense extracts (GE50) demonstrated good antioxidant activity. (2) Methods: To investigate the hepatoprotective effects of GE50 on ethanol and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) co-induced hepatic damage in rats, Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups (Control group; GE50 group, 0.25 g/100 g BW; EC group: Ethanol + CCl4, 1.25 mL 50% ethanol and 0.1 mL 20% CCl4/100 g BW; EC + GE50 group: Ethanol + CCl4 + GE50; EC + silymarin group: ethanol + CCl4 + silymarin, 20 mg/100 g BW) for six consecutive weeks. (3) Results: Compared with the control group, EC group significantly elevated the serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminitransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). However, GE50 or silymarin treatment effectively reversed these changes. GE50 had a significant protective effect against ethanol + CCl4 induced lipid peroxidation and increased the levels of glutathione (GSH), vitamin C, E, total antioxidant status (TAS), and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferases (GST). Furthermore, in EC focal group, slight fat droplet infiltration was observed in the livers, while in the GE50 or silymarin treatment groups, decreased fat droplet infiltration. HPLC phytochemical profile of GE50 revealed the presence of gallic acid, flavone, genistin, daidzin, and quercetin. (4) Conclusions: The hepatoprotective activity of GE50 is proposed to occur through the synergic effects of its chemical component, namely, gallic acid, flavone, genistin, daidzin, and quercetin. Hence, G. paraguayense can be used as a complementary and alternative therapy in the prevention of alcohol + CCl4-induced liver injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor burden, considered a common chronic stressor, can cause widespread anxiety. Evidence suggests that cancer-induced anxiety can promote tumor progression, but the underlying neural mechanism remains unclear. Here, we used neuroscience and cancer tools to investigate how the brain contributes to tumor progression via nerve-tumor crosstalk in a mouse model of breast cancer. We show that tumor-bearing mice exhibited significant anxiety-like behaviors and that corticotropinreleasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the central medial amygdala (CeM) were activated. Moreover, we detected newly formed sympathetic nerves in tumors, which established a polysynaptic connection to the brain. Pharmacogenetic or optogenetic inhibition of CeMCRH neurons and the CeMCRHlateral paragigantocellular nucleus (LPGi) circuit significantly alleviated anxiety-like behaviors and slowed tumor growth. Conversely, artificial activation of CeMCRH neurons and the CeMCRHLPGi circuit increased anxiety and tumor growth. Importantly, we found alprazolam, an antianxiety drug, to be a promising agent for slowing tumor progression. Furthermore, we show that manipulation of the CeMCRHLPGi circuit directly regulated the activity of the intratumoral sympathetic nerves and peripheral nerve-derived norepinephrine, which affected tumor progression by modulating antitumor immunity. Together, these findings reveal a brain-tumor neural circuit that contributes to breast cancer progression and provide therapeutic insights for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isospin dissipation dynamics in multinucleon transfer reactions has been investigated within the dinuclear system model. Production cross sections of neutron-rich isotopes around projectile-like and target-like fragments are estimated in collisions of 58,64Ni+208Pb and 78,86,91Kr+198Pt near Coulomb barrier energies. The isospin diffusion in the nucleon transfer process is coupled to the dissipation of relative motion energy and angular momentum of colliding system. The available data of projectile-like fragments via multinucleon transfer reactions are nicely reproduced. It is found that the light projectile-like fragments are produced in the neutron-rich region because of the isospin equilibrium in two colliding nuclei. However, the heavy target-like fragments tend to be formed on the neutron-poor side above the β-stability line. The neutron-rich projectiles move the maximal yields of heavy nuclei to the neutron-rich domain and are available for producing the heavy exotic isotopes, in particular around the neutron shell closure of N=126. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multinucleon transfer reactions near barrier energies have been investigated with a multistep model based on the dinuclear system (DNS) concept, in which the capture of two colliding nuclei, the transfer dynamics, and the deexcitation process of primary fragments are described by an analytical formula, diffusion theory, and a statistical model, respectively. The nucleon transfer takes place after forming the DNS and is coupled to the dissipation of relative motion energy and angular momentum by solving a set of microscopically derived master equations within the potential energy surface. Specific reactions of 40,48Ca+124Sn, 40Ca(40Ar,58Ni)+232Th, 40Ca(58Ni)+238U, and 40,48Ca(58Ni)+248Cm near barrier energies are investigated. It is found that fragments are produced by multinucleon transfer reactions with maximal yields along the β-stability line. The isospin relaxation is particularly significant in the process of fragment formation. The incident energy dependence of heavy target-like fragments in the reaction of 58Ni+248Cm is analyzed thoroughly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resorting to a neural network approach we refined several representative and sophisticated global nuclear mass models within the latest atomic mass evaluation (AME2012). In the training process, a quite robust algorithm named the Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) method is employed to determine the weights and biases of the neural network. As a result, this LM neural network approach demonstrates a very useful tool for further improving the accuracy of mass models. For a simple liquid drop formula the root mean square (rms) deviation between the predictions and the 2353 experimental known masses are sharply reduced from 2.455 MeV to 0.235 MeV, and for the other revisited mass models, the rms is remarkably improved by about 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By incorporating with the radial basis function correction, the Weizsäcker–Skyrme-type nuclear mass formula was further improved. The root-mean-square (rms) deviation of the binding energies between the theoretical calculations and 2267 experimental masses has been significantly reduced from 493 keV to 323 keV. The α-decay energies obtained from the binding energy by this hybrid formula also become more precise, i.e. the rms deviations for the Z = 74–118 even–even isotopes and for the 46 superheavy nuclei fall from 420 keV to 161 keV and from 501 keV to 230 keV, respectively. With the above calculated values as inputs, the calculated α-decay half-lives for the even–even (Z = 74–118) nuclei agree with the experimental ones very well, especially for the superheavy nuclei. Thus the further improved Weizsäcker–Skyrme-type nuclear mass formula is useful for predicting nuclear properties associated with mass evaluation systematically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamics of pseudoscalar mesons (π, η, K, and ...) and hyperons (Α and Σ) produced in heavy-ion collisions near threshold energies has been investigated within the Lanzhou quantum molecular dynamics transport model. The in-medium modifications on particle production in dense nuclear matter are implemented in the model through corrections on the elementary cross sections and by inclusion of the meson-nucleon (or hyperon-nucleon) potentials, in which the isospin effects are considered. It is found that the transportation of particles are influenced with the in-medium corrections. The total number of pions is reduced with an isospin-, density-, and momentum-dependent pion-nucleon potential. However, the ratios of charged pions is enhanced with inclusion of the potential. The production of eta in the domain of midrapidities and high momenta is sensitive to the η-nucleon potential but weakly depends on symmetry energy. The attractive antikaon-nucleon potential enhances the subthreshold ... production and also influences the structure of phase-space distributions. The dynamics of etas, kaons, antikaons, and hyperons is also influenced by the pion potential because of collisions between pions and nucleons (resonances). The impacts of mean-field potentials on particle dynamics are investigated, such as the phase-space distributions from rapidity and transverse momentum spectra, inclusive invariant spectra, collective flows, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]