409 research outputs found
High Resolution Polar Kerr Effect Measurements of Sr2RuO4: Evidence for Broken Time Reversal Symmetry in the Superconducting State
Polar Kerr effect in the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4 was measured
with high precision using a Sagnac interferometer with a zero-area Sagnac loop.
We observed non-zero Kerr rotations as big as 65 nanorad appearing below Tc in
large domains. Our results imply a broken time reversal symmetry state in the
superconducting state of Sr2RuO4, similar to He3-A
Characterization of a New Mouse Model for Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma in Humans
Peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are associated with a poor prognosis due to often advanced disease at the time of diagnosis and due to a lack of efficient therapeutic options. Therefore, appropriate animal models of PTCL are vital to improve clinical management of this disease. Here, we describe a monoclonal CD8+ CD4− αβ T cell receptor Vβ2+ CD28+ T cell lymphoma line, termed T8-28. T8-28 cells were isolated from an un-manipulated adult BALB/c mouse housed under standard pathogen-free conditions. T8-28 cells induced terminal malignancy upon adoptive transfer into syngeneic BALB/c mice. Despite intracellular expression of the cytotoxic T cell differentiation marker granzyme B, T8-28 cells appeared to be defective with respect to cytotoxic activity as read-out in vitro. Among the protocols tested, only addition of interleukin 2 in vitro could partially compensate for the in vivo micro-milieu in promoting growth of the T8-28 lymphoma cells
Adaptive thermal compensation of test masses in advanced LIGO
As the first generation of laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors
near operation, research and development has begun on increasing the
instrument's sensitivity while utilizing the existing infrastructure. In the
Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), significant
improvements are being planned for installation in ~2007, increasing strain
sensitivity through improved suspensions and test mass substrates, active
seismic isolation, and higher input laser power. Even with the highest quality
optics available today, however, finite absorption of laser power within
transmissive optics, coupled with the tremendous amount of optical power
circulating in various parts of the interferometer, result in critical
wavefront deformations which would cripple the performance of the instrument.
Discussed is a method of active wavefront correction via direct thermal
actuation on optical elements of the interferometer. A simple nichrome heating
element suspended off the face of an affected optic will, through radiative
heating, remove the gross axisymmetric part of the original thermal distortion.
A scanning heating laser will then be used to remove any remaining
non-axisymmetric wavefront distortion, generated by inhomogeneities in the
substrate's absorption, thermal conductivity, etc. A proof-of-principle
experiment has been constructed at MIT, selected data of which are presented.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravit
Sensitivity limitations in optical speed meter topology of gravitational-wave antennae
The possible design of QND gravitational-wave detector based on speed meter
principle is considered with respect to optical losses. The detailed analysis
of speed meter interferometer is performed and the ultimate sensitivity that
can be achieved is calculated. It is shown that unlike the position meter
signal-recycling can hardly be implemented in speed meter topology to replace
the arm cavities as it is done in signal-recycled detectors, such as GEO 600.
It is also shown that speed meter can beat the Standard Quantum Limit (SQL) by
the factor of in relatively wide frequency band, and by the factor of
in narrow band. For wide band detection speed meter requires quite
reasonable amount of circulating power MW. The advantage of the
considered scheme is that it can be implemented with minimal changes in the
current optical layout of LIGO interferometer.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figure
Signaling Signatures and Functional Properties of Anti-Human CD28 Superagonistic Antibodies
Superagonistic CD28 antibodies (CD28SAs) activate T lymphocytes without concomitant perturbation of the TCR/CD3-complex. In rodents these reagents induce the preferential expansion of regulatory T cells and can be used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Unexpectedly, the humanized CD28 superagonist TGN1412 caused severe and life threatening adverse effects during a recently conducted phase I clinical trail. The underlying molecular mechanisms are as yet unclear. We show that TGN1412 as well as the commercially available CD28 superagonist ANC28.1 induce a delayed but extremely sustained calcium response in human naïve and memory CD4+ T cells but not in cynomolgus T lymphocytes. The sustained Ca++-signal was associated with the activation of multiple intracellular signaling pathways and together these events culminated in the rapid de novo synthesis of high amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines, most notably IFN-γ and TNF-α. Importantly, sustained transmembranous calcium flux, activation of Src-kinases as well as activation of PI3K were found to be absolutely required for CD28SA-mediated production of IFN-γ and IL-2. Collectively, our data suggest a molecular basis for the severe side effects caused by TGN1412 and impinge upon the relevance of non-human primates as preclinical models for reagents that are supposed to modify the function of human T cells
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