Patenting the HIF Power System Using the SPRFD

This paper discusses the rationale for patenting inventions that enable the HIF power plant and the status of the prosecution of these patents. Our rationale for starting a business to pursue HIF power was its “suspended animation” despite being held since its 1976 debut to face “no showstoppers” and considered to be “the conservative approach to power production.” In turn, the rationale for patenting the unique features in our HIF approach is that intellectual property (IP) is essential to attract investors to a business endeavor that could readily be taken over by large competitors..

Subsystem Tabulation of the Single Pass RF Driver

This paper presents a subsystem-by-subsystem description of the Single Pass RF Driver (SPRFD). The purposes are to show SPRFD’s relationships to RF driver features assessed from 1976, to isolate the differences that affect prior conclusions about workability of RF drivers including confidence in pellet ignition, and to highlight the key associated technical issues to help prompt experts in the various areas to appreciate the specific challenges and perhaps become interested in their assessment. For important context and to show the excellent prospects for the complete HIF power plant, the pellet and chamber subsystems are likewise described and assessed..

Alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes generated in the presence of viral- derived peptides show exquisite peptide and MHC specificity

The nature of alloreactivity to MHC molecules has been enigmatic, primarily because of the observation that allogeneic responses are considerably stronger than syngeneic responses. To better determine the specificity potential of allogeneic responses, we have generated alloreactive CTL specific for exogenous, viral-derived peptide ligands. This approach allowed us to critically evaluate both the peptide- and MHC-specificity of these alloreactive T cells. Exploiting the accessibility of the H-2Ld class I molecule for exogenous peptide ligands, alloreactive CTL were generated that are specific for either murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) or lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) peptides bound by Ld alloantigens. Peptide specificity was initially observed in bulk cultures of alloreactive CTL only when tested on peptide-sensitized T2.Ld target cells that have defective presentation of endogenous peptides. Subsequent cloning of bulk alloreactive CTL lines generated to MCMV yielded CTL clones that had exquisitely specific MCMV peptide recognition requirement. All of the MCMV/Ld alloreactive CTL clones were also exquisitely MHC-specific in that none of the CTL clones lysed targets expressing MCMV/Lq complexes, even though Lq differs from Ld by only six amino acid residues and Lq also binds the MCMV peptide. This observation clearly demonstrates that alloreactive CTL are capable of the same degree of specificity for target cell recognition as are syngeneic CTL in MHC-restricted responses

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Opportunity for HIF in Iran

Cooperation in fusion energy research and high-energy accelerators has been a “bridge over troubled waters” for most of a century. Physics research has traditionally been an international endeavor, involving the earliest accelerator developments, and hitting a hiatus only during World War II. Fusion energy research using magnetic confinement was internationalized by the Geneva meeting in 1958. Iran is and has been a participant in fusion research, even during the troubles of the past couple decades..

Readiness of HIF Using the Single Pass RF Driver

Readiness for a concerted push to power production was the underlying theme from the inaugural HIF Workshop in 1976 through the review of ICF programs by DOE’s Energy Research and Advisory Board in 1979. Using John Lawson’s 1987 paper “Whither Heavy Ion Fusion?” [1] as a foil, this paper discusses the continuing vitality of the argument for HIF’s readiness against the backdrop that this vision is not in evidence today, having been occluded by political policies causing diversion of the HIF community into peripheral science that, although excellent, is in fact not required to complete the development of a HIF energy source..

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Opportunity for HIF in Iran

Cooperation in fusion energy research and high-energy accelerators has been a “bridge over troubled waters” for most of a century. Physics research has traditionally been an international endeavor, involving the earliest accelerator developments, and hitting a hiatus only during World War II. Fusion energy research using magnetic confinement was internationalized by the Geneva meeting in 1958. Iran is and has been a participant in fusion research, even during the troubles of the past couple decades..

Genetic mapping of the major histocompatibility complex in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) have received much attention in immunology, genetics, and ecology because they are highly polymorphic and play important roles in parasite resistance and mate choice. Until recently, the MHC of passerine birds was not well-described. However, the genome sequencing of the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) has partially redressed this gap in our knowledge of avian MHC genes. Here, we contribute further to the understanding of the zebra finch MHC organization by mapping SNPs within or close to known MHC genes in the zebra finch genome. MHC class I and IIB genes were both mapped to zebra finch chromosome 16, and there was no evidence that MHC class I genes are located on chromosome 22 (as suggested by the genome assembly). We confirm the location in the MHC region on chromosome 16 for several other genes (BRD2, FLOT1, TRIM7.2, GNB2L1, and CSNK2B). Two of these (CSNK2B and FLOT1) have not previously been mapped in any other bird species. In line with previous results, we also find that orthologs to the immune-related genes B-NK and CLEC2D, which are part of the MHC region in chicken, are situated on zebra finch chromosome Z and not among other MHC genes in the zebra finch

'We don't learn democracy, we live it!' : consulting the pupil voice in Scottish schools

As the education for citizenship agenda continues to impact on schools, there is a need to begin the discussion around examining the kind of initiatives that can push it forward. In Scotland the proposals should, it is argued, permeate the curriculum throughout the school. Yet there is the fear that the responsibility of all can become the responsibility of none. This paper examines, through case study research carried out by the authors, initiatives in schools designed to take forward the citizenship agenda in the light of children's rights. The first two relate to firstly the impact of pupil councils in primary schools and secondly the impact of discussing controversial issues in the primary classroom. The third outlines the impact on values and dispositions of developing more participatory, democratic practice in the classroom. The paper concludes by calling for both more initiatives of this type and more evaluation of their worth

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from the Gravitational-wave Background

El conjunto de datos de 15 años de NANOGrav muestra evidencias de la presencia de un fondo de ondas gravitacionales (GWB) de baja frecuencia. Aunque muchos procesos físicos pueden originar estas ondas gravitacionales de baja frecuencia, aquí analizamos la señal como procedente de una población de agujeros negros binarios supermasivos (SMBH) distribuidos por todo el Universo. Demostramos que los modelos astrofísicos de poblaciones binarias SMBH son capaces de reproducir tanto la amplitud como la forma del espectro de ondas gravitacionales de baja frecuencia observado. Aunque múltiples variaciones del modelo son capaces de reproducir el espectro GWB con nuestra precisión de medida actual, nuestros resultados subrayan la importancia de modelar con precisión la evolución binaria para producir espectros GWB realistas. Además, aunque unos parámetros razonables son capaces de reproducir las observaciones de 15 años, la amplitud implícita del GWB requiere que un gran número de parámetros se sitúen en los límites de los valores esperados o que un pequeño número de parámetros difieran notablemente de las expectativas estándar. Aunque todavía no somos capaces de establecer definitivamente el origen de la señal GWB inferida, la consistencia de la señal con las expectativas astrofísicas ofrece una perspectiva tentadora para confirmar que las binarias SMBH son capaces de formarse, alcanzar separaciones de sub-segundos y finalmente unirse. A medida que la importancia aumente con el tiempo, las características de orden superior del espectro del GWB determinarán definitivamente la naturaleza del GWB y permitirán nuevas restricciones sobre las poblaciones de SMBH. © 2023The NANOGrav 15 yr data set shows evidence for the presence of a low-frequency gravitational-wave background (GWB). While many physical processes can source such low-frequency gravitational waves, here we analyze the signal as coming from a population of supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries distributed throughout the Universe. We show that astrophysically motivated models of SMBH binary populations are able to reproduce both the amplitude and shape of the observed low-frequency gravitational-wave spectrum. While multiple model variations are able to reproduce the GWB spectrum at our current measurement precision, our results highlight the importance of accurately modeling binary evolution for producing realistic GWB spectra. Additionally, while reasonable parameters are able to reproduce the 15 yr observations, the implied GWB amplitude necessitates either a large number of parameters to be at the edges of expected values or a small number of parameters to be notably different from standard expectations. While we are not yet able to definitively establish the origin of the inferred GWB signal, the consistency of the signal with astrophysical expectations offers a tantalizing prospect for confirming that SMBH binaries are able to form, reach subparsec separations, and eventually coalesce. As the significance grows over time, higher-order features of the GWB spectrum will definitively determine the nature of the GWB and allow for novel constraints on SMBH populations. © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society