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Plasma factor VII activity (factor VIIc) is one of the independent risk factors for coronary artery disease and is controlled by both genetic and environmental factors. Several studies in healthy Caucasian subjects have revealed an association of a common genetic polymorphism at residue 353 (Arg-»-Gln) of the factor VII gene with plasma factor VIIc. We have investigated the influence of this polymorphism (factor VII Arg/Gln^) on fasting plasma factor VIIc and antigen (factor Vllag) levels and its interaction with triglyceride levels in 185 healthy Dravidian Indians of both sexes (128 men, 57 women). The frequency of Gln 353 has been found to be significantly higher in Dravidian Indians (0.29; confidence interval, 0.27 to 0.30) than in Caucasians (0.10). The distribu-F actor VII is one of the vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors synthesized principally in the liver and secreted as a single-chain glycoprotein of M T 48 000.J It is present in the plasma of healthy adults in a concentration of approximately 450 ng/mL with a half-life of approximately 5 hours. 2^ The active form (factor Vila) is formed by limited proteolysis in the form of two polypeptide chains held together by a disulfide bond. Factor Vila is present in plasma in low concentrations (approximately 1% of factor VII antigen [factor Vllag]) with a half-life of approximately 150 minutes. -5 The cleavage of factor VII to factor Vila is effected by several activated coagulation factors (Xlla, IXa, Xa) and thrombin. Factor Vila binds to tissue factor, and this complex, in the presence of Ca 2+ and phospholipid, converts factor X to factor Xa. Factor VII activity (factor VIIc) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for the development and/or progression of coronary artery disease. 712 However, the Progetto Lambardo Anti-Thrombosis (PLAT) Study and some other studies could not confirm the significance of factor VIIc in cardiovascular disease. 1313 Older and young healthy subjects with a family history of coronary artery disease have been found to have higher factor VIIc compared with those without such a family history. 1618 Another factor is that factor VIIc always

Transport, magnetic and optical investigations on EuRbFe 4 As 4 single crystals evidence that the ferromagnetic ordering of the Eu 2+ magnetic moments at T N = 15 K, below the superconducting transition (Tc = 36 K), affects superconductivity in a weak but intriguing way. Upon cooling below T N , the zero resistance state is preserved and the superconductivity is affected by the in-plane ferromagnetism mainly at domain boundaries; a perfect diamagnetism is recovered at low temperatures. The infrared conductivity is strongly suppressed in the far-infrared region below Tc, associated with the opening of a complete superconducting gap at 2∆ = 10 meV. A gap smaller than the weak coupling limit suggests the strong orbital effects or, within a multiband superconductivity scenario, the existence of a larger yet unrevealed gap.New members of the iron-pnictide family, the so-called 1144-compounds, attract interest recently because the alternating layers of alkaline A and alkaline-earth B cations produce two different kinds of As sites [1][2][3][4]. These materials can be viewed as the intergrowth of A-122 and B-122 iron-pnictides and they are naturally hole doped. The parent compounds are superconducting with transition temperatures T c around 35 K, higher than most of the 122materials; no spin-density-wave order has been observed. Among all possible candidates, Eu-based 1144-systems are even more intriguing, since the Eu-sublattice orders ferromagnetically below a critical temperature T N ≈ 15 K [5,6], similar to the 122-counterpart EuFe 2 As 2 [7-11]. Ferromagnetic order deep inside the superconducting state is very rare, in general [12,13]; hence the "ferromagnetic superconductor" EuRbFe 4 As 4 might pave the way towards realization of a "superconducting ferromagnet" [14-16]. However, the exact nature of the Eu magnetic order and its effect on superconductivity is unresolved [5, 6] because single crystals have been synthesized only recently.In this Letter we focus on the interplay between superconductivity and ferromagnetism in EuRbFe 4 As 4 single crystals. We report comprehensive investigations comprising transport, magnetic and optical measurements combined with microscopic studies of the vortex dynamics. The infrared spectra show a clear gap opening around 80 cm −1 below T c = 36 K that is slightly reduced compared to the value expected from the BCS theory. We relate this small value to the multiband character of superconductivity as well as to the depairing (orbital) effects of super-currents screening the ferromagnetic domains. A surprisingly weak effect on the superconducting condensate has been observed upon magnetic ordering indicating a rather weak interaction between Eu-and Fe-sublattices.Single crystals of EuRbFe 4 As 4 are obtained according to Ref. [4,5,17,18]; they exhibit shiny ab-faces of approximately 1 mm in size. The structure of the compound is presented in Fig. 1(a). The crystals are characterized by x-ray, electrical transport, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. In Fig. 1(a) we plot the dc ...

Optical properties of quantum dots can be drastically changed by surface plasmons excited in neighboring metallic nanostructures. Here we investigated the photoluminescence enhancement dependence of single quantum dots on the separation distance with Au microplates by a single particle spectroscopy. The quantum dot–Au microplate hybrid structures provided a photoluminescence enhancement of up to ∼16-fold when the separation distance between the surface of Au microplate and the center of QD was 18 ± 1.9 nm. Accordingly, the lifetime of those quantum dots was shortened compared with the ones on glass plates directly. Theoretical simulation revealed that the variation of photoluminescence enhancement was closely dependent on the separation distance between the QD and the Au microplate, in good agreement with the experimental results.

Nanodiamonds (NDs) with color centers are excellent emitters for various bioimaging and quantum biosensing applications. In our work, we explore new applications of NDs with silicon-vacancy centers (SiV) obtained by high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) synthesis based on metal-catalyst-free growth. They are coated with a polypeptide biopolymer, which is essential for efficient cellular uptake. The unique optical properties of NDs with SiV are their high photostability and narrow emission in the near-infrared region. Our results demonstrate for the first time that NDs with SiV allow live-cell dual-color imaging and intracellular tracking. Also, intracellular thermometry and challenges associated with SiV atomic defects in NDs are investigated and discussed for the first time. NDs with SiV nanoemitters provide new avenues for live-cell bioimaging, diagnostic (SiV as a nanosized thermometer), and theranostic (nanodiamonds as drug carrier) applications.

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Modeling and verifying complex real-time systems are challenging research problems. The de facto approach is based on Timed Automata, which are finite state automata equipped with clock variables. Timed Automata are deficient in modeling hierarchical complex systems. In this work, we propose a language called Stateful Timed CSP and an automated approach for verifying Stateful Timed CSP models. Stateful Timed CSP is based on Timed CSP and is capable of specifying hierarchical real-time systems. Through dynamic zone abstraction, finite-state zone graphs can be generated automatically from Stateful Timed CSP models, which are subject to model checking. Like Timed Automata, Stateful Timed CSP models suffer from Zeno runs, that is, system runs that take infinitely many steps within finite time. Unlike Timed Automata, model checking with non-Zenoness in Stateful Timed CSP can be achieved based on the zone graphs. We extend the PAT model checker to support system modeling and verification using Stateful Timed CSP and show its usability/scalability via verification of real-world systems.