Expression of human soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand in transplastomic tobacco

The soluble extracellular domain of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (sTRAIL) can, as the whole length TRAIL protein, bind with its receptors and specifically induce the apoptosis of cancer cells; therefore, it has been developed as a potential therapeutic agent for various cancer treatments. As it has become an attractive technology for foreign protein production, especially for production of biopharmaceuticals, chloroplast engineering was applied in this study to express human sTRAIL protein in tobacco. Two transplastomic lines were obtained. Southern blot showed that sTRAIL gene was inserted into the right site of the tobacco chloroplast genome. RT-PCR results also confirmed that the foreign gene is transcribed in both lines. However, western blot showed that only one line accumulated sTRAIL protein stably, while the other line lost the ability to accumulate this protein after several rounds of subcultures. The possible reason for this unexpected phenomenon is discussed.Key words: Chloroplast transformation, sTRAIL, pharmaceutical protein, expression, tobacco chloroplast

The Performance of CRTNT Fluorescence Light Detector for Sub-EeV Cosmic Ray Observation

Cosmic Ray Tau Neutrino Telescopes (CRTNT) using for sub-EeV cosmic ray measurement is discussed. Performances of a stereoscope configuration with a tower of those telescopes plus two side-triggers are studied. This is done by using a detailed detector simulation driven by Corsika. Detector aperture as a function of shower energy above 10^17 eV is calculated. Event rate of about 20k per year for the second knee measurement is estimated. Event rate for cross calibration with detectors working on higher energy range is also estimated. Different configurations of the detectors are tried for optimization.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to HEP & N

High sensitivity microwave detection using a magnetic tunnel junction in the absence of an external applied magnetic field

In the absence of any external applied magnetic field, we have found that a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) can produce a significant output direct voltage under microwave radiation at frequencies, which are far from the ferromagnetic resonance condition, and this voltage signal can be increase by at least an order of magnitude by applying a direct current bias. The enhancement of the microwave detection can be explained by the nonlinear resistance/conductance of the MTJs. Our estimation suggests that optimized MTJs should achieve sensitivities for non-resonant broadband microwave detection of about 5,000 mV/mW

The impact of an insider and short-selling on bubble formation in experimental financial market

This study extends the institutional design of the existing literature focusing solely on short selling by introducing an insider who is informed of the dividend distribution and experienced outsiders who gain information via trading experience. Our findings show that introducing short selling and an insider does reduce the bubble duration and size. At the same time, volatility is significantly reduced. Furthermore, the presence of the single insider reduces the large undervaluation and overall turnover in pure short selling treatment and generates small positive bubbles. Once the outsiders gain information via trading experience, there are small positive bubbles with reduced volatility

Parametrization of the Driven Betatron Oscillation

An AC dipole is a magnet which produces a sinusoidally oscillating dipole field and excites coherent transverse beam motion in a synchrotron. By observing this coherent motion, the optical parameters can be directly measured at the beam position monitor locations. The driven oscillation induced by an AC dipole will generate a phase space ellipse which differs from that of the free oscillation. If not properly accounted for, this difference can lead to a misinterpretation of the actual optical parameters, for instance, of 6% or more in the cases of the Tevatron, RHIC, or LHC. The effect of an AC dipole on the linear optics parameters is identical to that of a thin lens quadrupole. By introducing a new amplitude function to describe this new phase space ellipse, the motion produced by an AC dipole becomes easier to interpret. Beam position data taken under the influence of an AC dipole, with this new interpretation in mind, can lead to more precise measurements of the normal Courant-Snyder parameters. This new parameterization of the driven motion is presented and is used to interpret data taken in the FNAL Tevatron using an AC dipole.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, and 1 tabl