Parsec-scale jet properties of the gamma-ray quasar 3C 286

The quasar 3C~286 is one of two compact steep spectrum sources detected by the {\it Fermi}/LAT. Here, we investigate the radio properties of the parsec(pc)-scale jet and its (possible) association with the $\gamma$-ray emission in 3C~286. The Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) images at various frequencies reveal a one-sided core--jet structure extending to the southwest at a projected distance of $\sim$1 kpc. The component at the jet base showing an inverted spectrum is identified as the core, with a mean brightness temperature of $2.8\times 10^{9}$~K. The jet bends at about 600 pc (in projection) away from the core, from a position angle of $-135^\circ$ to $-115^\circ$. Based on the available VLBI data, we inferred the proper motion speed of the inner jet as $0.013 \pm 0.011$ mas yr$^{-1}$ ($\beta_{\rm app} = 0.6 \pm 0.5$), corresponding to a jet speed of about $0.5\,c$ at an inclination angle of $48^\circ$ between the jet and the line of sight of the observer. The brightness temperature, jet speed and Lorentz factor are much lower than those of $\gamma$-ray-emitting blazars, implying that the pc-scale jet in 3C~286 is mildly relativistic. Unlike blazars in which $\gamma$-ray emission is in general thought to originate from the beamed innermost jet, the location and mechanism of $\gamma$-ray emission in 3C~286 may be different as indicated by the current radio data. Multi-band spectrum fitting may offer a complementary diagnostic clue of the $\gamma$-ray production mechanism in this source.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accept for publication in MNRA

Reprogrammable plasmonic topological insulators with ultrafast control

Topological photonics has revolutionized our understanding of light propagation, providing a robust way to manipulate light. So far, most of studies in this field are focused on designing a static photonic structure. Developing a dynamic photonic topological platform to switch multiple topological functionalities at ultrafast speed is still a great challenge. Here we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate a reprogrammable plasmonic topological insulator, where the topological propagation route can be dynamically changed at nanosecond-level switching time, leading to an experimental demonstration of ultrafast multi-channel optical analog-digital converter. Due to the innovative use of electric switches to implement the programmability of plasmonic topological insulator, each unit cell can be encoded by dynamically controlling its digital plasmonic states while keeping its geometry and material parameters unchanged. Our reprogrammable topological plasmonic platform is fabricated by the printed circuit board technology, making it much more compatible with integrated photoelectric systems. Furthermore, due to its flexible programmability, many photonic topological functionalities can be integrated into this versatile topological platform

Mixed adsorption and surface tension prediction of nonideal ternary surfactant systems

To deal with the mixed adsorption of nonideal ternary surfactant systems, the regular solution approximation for nonideal binary surfactant systems is extended and a pseudo-binary system treatment is also proposed. With both treatments, the compositions of the mixed monolayer and the solution concentrations required to produce given surface tensions can be predicted based only on the gamma-LogC curves of individual surfactants and the pair interaction parameters. Conversely, the surface tensions of solutions with different bulk compositions can be predicted by the surface tension equations for mixed surfactant systems. Two ternary systems: SDS/Hyamine 1622/AEO7, composed of homogeneous surfactants, and AES/DPCl/AEO9, composed of commercial surfactants, in the presence of excess NaCl, are examined for the applicability of the two treatments. The results show that, in general, the pseudo-binary system treatment gives better prediction than the extended regular solution approximation, and the applicability of the latter to typical anionic/cationic/nonionic nonideal ternary surfactant systems seems to depend on the combined interaction parameter, $${\mathop {(\beta }\nolimits_{an}^s } + {\mathop \beta \nolimits_{cn}^s })/2 - {\mathop \beta \nolimits_{ac}^s }/4$$ : the more it deviates from zero, the larger the prediction difference. If $${\mathop {(\beta }\nolimits_{an}^s } + {\mathop \beta \nolimits_{cn}^s })/2 - {\mathop \beta \nolimits_{ac}^s }/4$$ rarr0, good agreements between predicted and experimental results can be obtained and both treatments, though differently derived, are interrelated and tend to be equivalent

Tick-borne encephalitis virus induces chemokine RANTES expression via activation of IRF-3 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is one of the most important flaviviruses that targets the central nervous system (CNS) and causes encephalitides in humans. Although neuroinflammatory mechanisms may contribute to brain tissue destruction, the induction pathways and potential roles of specific chemokines in TBEV-mediated neurological disease are poorly understood. METHODS: BALB/c mice were intracerebrally injected with TBEV, followed by evaluation of chemokine and cytokine profiles using protein array analysis. The virus-infected mice were treated with the CC chemokine antagonist Met-RANTES or anti-RANTES mAb to determine the role of RANTES in affecting TBEV-induced neurological disease. The underlying signaling mechanisms were delineated using RANTES promoter luciferase reporter assay, siRNA-mediated knockdown, and pharmacological inhibitors in human brain-derived cell culture models. RESULTS: In a mouse model, pathological features including marked inflammatory cell infiltrates were observed in brain sections, which correlated with a robust up-regulation of RANTES within the brain but not in peripheral tissues and sera. Antagonizing RANTES within CNS extended the survival of mice and reduced accumulation of infiltrating cells in the brain after TBEV infection. Through in vitro studies, we show that virus infection up-regulated RANTES production at both mRNA and protein levels in human brain-derived cell lines and primary progenitor-derived astrocytes. Furthermore, IRF-3 pathway appeared to be essential for TBEV-induced RANTES production. Site mutation of an IRF-3-binding motif abrogated the RANTES promoter activity in virus-infected brain cells. Moreover, IRF-3 was activated upon TBEV infection as evidenced by phosphorylation of TBK1 and IRF-3, while blockade of IRF-3 activation drastically reduced virus-induced RANTES expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings together provide insights into the molecular mechanism underlying RANTES production induced by TBEV, highlighting its potential importance in the process of neuroinflammatory responses to TBEV infection

Effects of polysaccharide from Lycium barbarum in alloxan-induced diabetic mice

A study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of polysaccharide from Lycium barbarum (LBP) in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. The various parameters studied included body weight, fasting blood glucose levels, total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in diabetic and normal mice. LBP treatment(20, 40 mg/ kg body weight) for 28 days resulted in a significant decrease in the concentration of fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in diabetes mellitus mice. Furthermore, LBP significantly increased body weight (bw). The data demonstrated LBP at the dose of 40 mg/kg bw exhibited the optimal effect

Structure optimization of ladle rotary table mounting device

As a widely used equipment in continuous casting process, the installation process of ladle rotary table is complicated and requires many installation equipment. According to the practical engineering application, this paper takes the installation device as the research object, and optimizes the original structure of the installation device. SolidWorks software was used to model the overall structure of the installation device, and the established model was imported into Hypermesh for mesh division, and finally into ANSYS for finite element analysis to compare the stress and deformation of the structure before and after optimization.The results show that the stress of the optimized structure is reduced to some extent, and the practical application requirements are met

Sufficient Conditions for Tuza's Conjecture on Packing and Covering Triangles

Given a simple graph $G=(V,E)$, a subset of $E$ is called a triangle cover if it intersects each triangle of $G$. Let $\nu_t(G)$ and $\tau_t(G)$ denote the maximum number of pairwise edge-disjoint triangles in $G$ and the minimum cardinality of a triangle cover of $G$, respectively. Tuza conjectured in 1981 that $\tau_t(G)/\nu_t(G)\le2$ holds for every graph $G$. In this paper, using a hypergraph approach, we design polynomial-time combinatorial algorithms for finding small triangle covers. These algorithms imply new sufficient conditions for Tuza's conjecture on covering and packing triangles. More precisely, suppose that the set $\mathscr T_G$ of triangles covers all edges in $G$. We show that a triangle cover of $G$ with cardinality at most $2\nu_t(G)$ can be found in polynomial time if one of the following conditions is satisfied: (i) $\nu_t(G)/|\mathscr T_G|\ge\frac13$, (ii) $\nu_t(G)/|E|\ge\frac14$, (iii) $|E|/|\mathscr T_G|\ge2$. Keywords: Triangle cover, Triangle packing, Linear 3-uniform hypergraphs, Combinatorial algorithm

Structure optimization of ladle rotary table mounting device

As a widely used equipment in continuous casting process, the installation process of ladle rotary table is complicated and requires many installation equipment. According to the practical engineering application, this paper takes the installation device as the research object, and optimizes the original structure of the installation device. SolidWorks software was used to model the overall structure of the installation device, and the established model was imported into Hypermesh for mesh division, and finally into ANSYS for finite element analysis to compare the stress and deformation of the structure before and after optimization.The results show that the stress of the optimized structure is reduced to some extent, and the practical application requirements are met