Vodka Tourism in Estonia: Cultural Identity or Clearly Commerce?

Vodka has been produced in Estonia since the late 1700’s. It has been said that 90% of Estonian Manor homes during that period had their own “vodka kitchen” for distilling the product. This cultural orientation of vodka changed to commerce with the introduction of a ferry service between the Finnish capital city of Helsinki and Estonia’s capital Tallinn in 1968. So called “vodka tourism” began to appear. Today approximately 15% of the total alcohol consumed in Finland is purchased in Tallinn area stores. This research examines the role of vodka, and “vodka tourism”, as it pertains to culture and commerce in Estonia

Retail price promotion and regular price purchases: a replication

An often voiced concern of business practitioners relates to the value of academic research to their enterprise operations. The purpose of our research is to analyze a specific academic article that purports to provide retailers with insights as to the sales impact of pricing promotions and regular priced merchandise.(Mulhern and Padgett, Journal of Marketing, October, 1995). We replicated and extended the original study to test for possible effects of survey question positioning. The data was collected with the cooperation of a large Canadian Hardware store, and although this is a work in progress, the preliminary findings indicate the possibility of question positioning affecting the data collected. A further contribution of our research is to demonstrate the belief that a healthy scepticism of recommendations found in published academic research can be lessened through the use of replication and extension research

Experimental Demonstration of Time-Delay Interferometry for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

We report on the first demonstration of time-delay interferometry (TDI) for LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. TDI was implemented in a laboratory experiment designed to mimic the noise couplings that will occur in LISA. TDI suppressed laser frequency noise by approximately 10^9 and clock phase noise by 6x10^4, recovering the intrinsic displacement noise floor of our laboratory test bed. This removal of laser frequency noise and clock phase noise in post-processing marks the first experimental validation of the LISA measurement scheme.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letters end of May 201

Techniques for Solution- Assisted Optical Contacting

A document discusses a solution-assisted contacting technique for optical contacting. An optic of surface flatness Lambda/20 was successfully contacted with one of moderate surface quality, or Lambda/4. Optics used were both ultra-low expansion (ULE) glass (Lambda/4 and Lambda/20) and fused silica (Lambda/20). A stainless steel template of the intended interferometer layout was designed and constructed with three contact points per optic. The contact points were all on a common side of the template. The entire contacting jig was tilted at about 30 . Thus, when the isopropanol was applied, each optic slid due to gravity, resting on the contact points. All of the contacting was performed in a relatively dusty laboratory. A number of successful contacts were achieved where up to two or three visible pieces of dust could be seen. These were clearly visible due to refraction patterns between the optic and bench. On a number of optics, the final step of dropping isopropyl between the surfaces was repeated until a successful contact was achieved. The new procedures realized in this work represent a simplification for optical contacting in the laboratory. They will both save time and money spent during the contacting process, and research and development phases. The techniques outlined are suitable for laboratory experiments, research, and initial development stages

Opportunities for Treg cell therapy for the treatment of human disease

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for maintaining peripheral tolerance, preventing autoimmunity, and limiting chronic inflammatory diseases. This small CD4+ T cell population can develop in the thymus and in the peripheral tissues of the immune system through the expression of an epigenetically stabilized transcription factor, FOXP3. Treg cells mediate their tolerogenic effects using multiple modes of action, including the production of inhibitory cytokines, cytokine starvation of T effector (e.g., IL-2), Teff suppression by metabolic disruption, and modulation of antigen-presenting cell maturation or function. These activities together result in the broad control of various immune cell subsets, leading to the suppression of cell activation/expansion and effector functions. Moreover, these cells can facilitate tissue repair to complement their suppressive effects. In recent years, there has been an effort to harness Treg cells as a new therapeutic approach to treat autoimmune and other immunological diseases and, importantly, to re-establish tolerance. Recent synthetic biological advances have enabled the cells to be genetically engineered to achieve tolerance and antigen-specific immune suppression by increasing their specific activity, stability, and efficacy. These cells are now being tested in clinical trials. In this review, we highlight both the advances and the challenges in this arena, focusing on the efforts to develop this new pillar of medicine to treat and cure a variety of diseases

High-Speed Digital Interferometry

Digitally enhanced heterodyne interferometry (DI) is a laser metrology technique employing pseudo-random noise (PRN) codes phase-modulated onto an optical carrier. Combined with heterodyne interferometry, the PRN code is used to select individual signals, returning the inherent interferometric sensitivity determined by the optical wavelength. The signal isolation arises from the autocorrelation properties of the PRN code, enabling both rejection of spurious signals (e.g., from scattered light) and multiplexing capability using a single metrology system. The minimum separation of optical components is determined by the wavelength of the PRN code

Progress in Interferometry for LISA at JPL

Recent advances at JPL in experimentation and design for LISA interferometry include the demonstration of Time Delay Interferometry using electronically separated end stations, a new arm-locking design with improved gain and stability, and progress in flight readiness of digital and analog electronics for phase measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, LISA 8 Symposium, Stanford University, 201

IL-23 plays a key role in Helicobacter hepaticus–induced T cell–dependent colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that is caused in part by a dysregulated immune response to the intestinal flora. The common interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23p40 subunit is thought to be critical for the pathogenesis of IBD. We have analyzed the role of IL-12 versus IL-23 in two models of Helicobacter hepaticus–triggered T cell–dependent colitis, one involving anti–IL-10R monoclonal antibody treatment of infected T cell–sufficient hosts, and the other involving CD4+ T cell transfer into infected Rag−/− recipients. Our data demonstrate that IL-23 and not IL-12 is essential for the development of maximal intestinal disease. Although IL-23 has been implicated in the differentiation of IL-17–producing CD4+ T cells that alone are sufficient to induce autoimmune tissue reactivity, our results instead support a model in which IL-23 drives both interferon γ and IL-17 responses that together synergize to trigger severe intestinal inflammation