1,484 research outputs found

    Spatiotemporal evolution of radio wave pump-induced ionospheric phenomena near the fourth electron gyroharmonic

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    On 12 November 2001, the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) high-frequency (HF) radio wave transmitter facility, operating in O-mode at 5.423 MHz with 550 MW effective radiated power, produced artificial optical rings which appeared immediately at transmitter turn-on and collapsed into blobs after ∼60 s while descending in altitude. A similar descent in altitude was observed in the EISCAT ultra high frequency (UHF) ion line enhancements. Likewise, the stimulated electromagnetic emission (SEE) spectra changed as the pump frequency approached the fourth electron gyroharmonic due to pump-induced variations in electron concentration. Optical recordings were made from Skibotn at 630.0 and 557.7 nm and from Ramfjord in white light. The altitude of the initial optical ring and steady state blob has been estimated by triangulation. The evolution in altitude of the optical emissions, ion line enhancements, and SEE spectra all show a similar morphology but are generally not at exactly the same height. Typically, the optical height is close to and a few kilometers below that of the radar backscatter but sometimes above it, both of which are above the SEE generation altitude. There is evidence that upper hybrid (UH) waves, which propagate perpendicular to the magnetic field line, and Langmuir (L) waves, which propagate parallel to the magnetic field line, act simultaneously to accelerate electrons even in the steady state

    The E5 oncoprotein of BPV-4 does not interfere with the biosynthetic pathway of non-classical MHC class I

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    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I region in mammals contains both classical and non-classical MHC class I genes. Classical MHC class I molecules present antigenic peptides to cytotoxic T lymphocytes, whereas non-classical MHC class I molecules have a variety of functions. Both classical and non-classical MHC molecules interact with natural killer cell receptors and may under some circumstances prevent cell death by natural killer cytotoxicity. The E5 oncoprotein of BPV-4 down-regulates the expression of classical MHC class I on the cell surface and retains the complex in the Golgi apparatus. The inhibition of classical MHC class I to the cell surface results from both the impaired acidification of the Golgi, due to the interaction of E5 with subunit c of the H+ V-ATPase, and to the physical binding of E5 to the heavy chain of MHC class I. Despite the profound effect of E5 on classical MHC class I, E5 does not retain a non-classical MHC class I in the Golgi, does not inhibit its transport to the cell surface and does not bind its heavy chain. We conclude that, as is the case for HPV-16 E5, BPV-4 E5 does not down-regulate certain non-classical MHC class I, potentially providing a mechanism for the escape of the infected cell from attack by both cytotoxic T lymphocytes and NK cells

    Hemiconvulsion-Hemiplegia-Epilepsy Syndrome

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    ObjectiveHemiconvulsion-Hemiplegia-Epilepsy syndrome (HHE) is an initial phase of unilateral or predominantly unilateral convulsive seizures usually of long duration, with a second phase of hemiplegia (usually permanent), immediately following the hemiconvulsions;and then a third stage, characterized by the appearance of partial epileptic seizures. The causes of the initial convulsions in HHE syndrome are multiple but in many patients no cause in obvious. Neuroimaging studies demonstrate an acquired atrophy, that often is preceded by swelling and edema of the hemisphere. Here we report a case of 18 monthold boy, with an initial phase of repeated episodes of partial  seizures, followed by hemiparesis and epileptic seizures, with one episode of generalized convulsive status epilepticus . Minor head trauma was the trigger factor of the initial attack. Brain neuroimaging showed generalized atrophy , that was more prominent in the left hemisphere.

    A comparison between the effect of systemic and coated drug delivery in osteoporotic bone after dental implantation

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    The increased life expectancy has boomed the demand of dental implants in the elderly. As a consequence, considering the effect of poorer bone quality, due to aging or associated diseases such as osteoporosis, on the success of dental restoration is becoming increasingly important. Bisphosphonates are one of the most used drugs to overcome the effect of osteoporosis as they increase bone density. Bisphosphonates modify the physiological bone remodeling process by adhering to the bone surface, reducing the activity of osteoclasts. This study aims at comparing the effect on bone remodeling of two drug delivery methods of Bisphosphonates: local delivery by coating the implant surface and systemic delivery. A chemo-mechano-biological bone remodeling model validated in a previous paper was used here. The two drug delivery schemes were modeled by means of a finite element approach. In the systemic drug delivery case, the amount of drug that reaches the bone compartment was calculated using a pharmacokinetic model while in the local drug delivery system, the dose was calculated using Fickean diffusion. In particular, the effect of Zoledronate is studied here. The two drug delivery approaches are compared between them and with a control case with no drug. The results show that the use of Bisphosphonates increases the mechanical strength of bone, thus improving the implant fixation along time. Systemic drug delivery affects the entire skeleton, while local drug delivery only affects the area around the dental implant, which reduces the side effects of Bisphosphonates, such as increasing the mineral content, which may promote bone brittleness and microdamage far from the implant. These results support the conclusion that dental implants coated with Bisphosphonates can be a good solution for osteoporotic or low bone density patients without the long-term side effects of systemic drug delivery. © 202

    The Eccentric Connectivity Polynomial of some Graph Operations

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    The eccentric connectivity index of a graph G, ξ^C, was proposed by Sharma, Goswami and Madan. It is defined as ξ^C(G) = ∑ u ∈ V(G) degG(u)εG(u), where degG(u) denotes the degree of the vertex x in G and εG(u) = Max{d(u, x) | x ∈ V (G)}. The eccentric connectivity polynomial is a polynomial version of this topological index. In this paper, exact formulas for the eccentric connectivity polynomial of Cartesian product, symmetric difference, disjunction and join of graphs are presented.* The work of this author was supported in part by a grant from IPM (No. 89050111)

    Determination of Mg composition in MgₓZn₁ˍₓO alloy: Validity of Vegard’s law

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    Vegard’s law and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry were employed to determine the Mg composition in MgₓZn₁ˍₓO layers deposited on 6H–SiC substrates. With the increase of Mg composition in MgₓZn₁ˍₓO layers, the c-axis length decreased by 5.2048−0.072x, while the a-axis length increased to 3.2491+0.047x. The lattice constants estimated by Vegard’s law and a theoretical model exhibited an uncertainty of ∼3% that has been attributed to the ∼2% lattice misfit in the MgO∕ZnO materials system. Localized exciton peaks of MgₓZn₁ˍₓO alloy in photoluminescence(PL) measurements disappeared completely, while the neutral donor-acceptor pair and 1-longitudinal optical-phonon energies decreased rapidly with the increase of Mg composition. These PL data do not comply with Vegard’s law. The asymmetric behavior in the MgₓZn₁ˍₓO alloy is the subject of locally disordered Mg potential fluctuations and an artifact of the cMgO and aMgO lengths calculated theoretically.This work was supported in part by the Special Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, Photodynamics Research Center, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research RIKEN, Japan
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