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Evidence for clonal selection of gamma/delta T cells in response to a human pathogen.
T cells bearing gamma/delta antigen receptors comprise a resident population of intraepithelial lymphocytes in organs such as skin, gut, and lungs, where they are strategically located to contribute to the initial defense against infection. An important unsolved question about antigen-driven gamma/delta T cell responses regards the breadth of their T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire, since many specific epithelial compartments in mice display limited diversity. We have examined the diversity of TCR delta gene expression among human gamma/delta T cells from skin lesions induced by intradermal challenge with Mycobacterium leprae. We show that the vast majority of gamma/delta cells from M. leprae lesions use either V delta 1-J delta 1 or V delta 2-J delta 1 gene rearrangements and, within a given region of the lesion, display limited junctional diversity. This contrasts markedly with the extensive diversity of gamma/delta T cells from peripheral blood of these same individuals, as well as skin from normal donors. These results indicate that the gamma/delta response to M. leprae involves the selection of a limited number of clones from among a diverse repertoire, probably in response to specific mycobacterial and/or host antigens
Tomographic approach to resolving the distribution of LISA Galactic binaries
The space based gravitational wave detector LISA is expected to observe a
large population of Galactic white dwarf binaries whose collective signal is
likely to dominate instrumental noise at observational frequencies in the range
10^{-4} to 10^{-3} Hz. The motion of LISA modulates the signal of each binary
in both frequency and amplitude, the exact modulation depending on the source
direction and frequency. Starting with the observed response of one LISA
interferometer and assuming only doppler modulation due to the orbital motion
of LISA, we show how the distribution of the entire binary population in
frequency and sky position can be reconstructed using a tomographic approach.
The method is linear and the reconstruction of a delta function distribution,
corresponding to an isolated binary, yields a point spread function (psf). An
arbitrary distribution and its reconstruction are related via smoothing with
this psf. Exploratory results are reported demonstrating the recovery of binary
sources, in the presence of white Gaussian noise.Comment: 13 Pages and 9 figures high resolution figures can be obtains from
http://www.phys.utb.edu/~rajesh/lisa_tomography.pd
Fermiology via the electron momentum distribution
Investigations of the Fermi surface via the electron momentum distribution
reconstructed from either angular correlation of annihilation radiation (or
Compton scattering) experimental spectra are presented. The basis of these
experiments and mathematical methods applied in reconstructing
three-dimensional densities from line (or plane) projections measured in these
experiments are described. The review of papers where such techniques have been
applied to study the Fermi surface of metallic materials with showing their
main results is also done.Comment: 22 pages, 9 Figures, 4 Table
Minimax estimation of the Wigner function in quantum homodyne tomography with ideal detectors
We estimate the quantum state of a light beam from results of quantum
homodyne measurements performed on identically prepared pulses. The state is
represented through the Wigner function, a ``quasi-probability density'' on
which may take negative values and must respect intrinsic
positivity constraints imposed by quantum physics. The data consists of
i.i.d. observations from a probability density equal to the Radon transform of
the Wigner function. We construct an estimator for the Wigner function, and
prove that it is minimax efficient for the pointwise risk over a class of
infinitely differentiable functions. A similar result was previously derived by
Cavalier in the context of positron emission tomography. Our work extends this
result to the space of smooth Wigner functions, which is the relevant parameter
space for quantum homodyne tomography.Comment: 15 page
Comparative study of semiclassical approaches to quantum dynamics
Quantum states can be described equivalently by density matrices, Wigner
functions or quantum tomograms. We analyze the accuracy and performance of
three related semiclassical approaches to quantum dynamics, in particular with
respect to their numerical implementation. As test cases, we consider the time
evolution of Gaussian wave packets in different one-dimensional geometries,
whereby tunneling, resonance and anharmonicity effects are taken into account.
The results and methods are benchmarked against an exact quantum mechanical
treatment of the system, which is based on a highly efficient Chebyshev
expansion technique of the time evolution operator.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures, corrected typos and added references; version as
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Publishing and sharing multi-dimensional image data with OMERO
Imaging data are used in the life and biomedical sciences to measure the molecular and structural composition and dynamics of cells, tissues, and organisms. Datasets range in size from megabytes to terabytes and usually contain a combination of binary pixel data and metadata that describe the acquisition process and any derived results. The OMERO image data management platform allows users to securely share image datasets according to specific permissions levels: data can be held privately, shared with a set of colleagues, or made available via a public URL. Users control access by assigning data to specific Groups with defined membership and access rights. OMERO’s Permission system supports simple data sharing in a lab, collaborative data analysis, and even teaching environments. OMERO software is open source and released by the OME Consortium at www.openmicroscopy.org
Report on the first round of the Mock LISA Data Challenges
The Mock LISA Data Challenges (MLDCs) have the dual purpose of fostering the
development of LISA data analysis tools and capabilities, and demonstrating the
technical readiness already achieved by the gravitational-wave community in
distilling a rich science payoff from the LISA data output. The first round of
MLDCs has just been completed: nine data sets containing simulated
gravitational wave signals produced either by galactic binaries or massive
black hole binaries embedded in simulated LISA instrumental noise were released
in June 2006 with deadline for submission of results at the beginning of
December 2006. Ten groups have participated in this first round of challenges.
Here we describe the challenges, summarise the results, and provide a first
critical assessment of the entries.Comment: Proceedings report from GWDAW 11. Added author, added reference,
clarified some text, removed typos. Results unchanged; Removed author, minor
edits, reflects submitted versio
The influence of marketing on the sports betting attitudes and consumption behaviours of young men: Implications for harm reduction and prevention strategies
Background: Gambling can cause significant health and social harms for individuals, their families, and communities. While many studies have explored the individual factors that may lead to and minimise harmful gambling, there is still limited knowledge about the broader range of factors that may contribute to gambling harm. There are significant regulations to prevent the marketing of some forms of gambling but comparatively limited regulations relating to the marketing of newer forms of online gambling such as sports betting. There is a need for better information about how marketing strategies may be shaping betting attitudes and behaviours and the range of policy and regulatory responses that may help to prevent the risky or harmful consumption of these products. Methods: We conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 50 Australian men (aged 20-37 years) who gambled on sports. We explored their attitudes and opinions regarding sports betting marketing, the embedding of marketing within sports and other non-gambling community environments, and the implications this had for the normalisation of betting. Results: Our findings indicate that most of the environments in which participants reported seeing or hearing betting advertisements were not in environments specifically designed for betting. Participants described that the saturation of marketing for betting products, including through sports-based commentary and sports programming, normalised betting. Participants described that the inducements offered by the industry were effective marketing strategies in getting themselves and other young men to bet on sports. Inducements were also linked with feelings of greater control over betting outcomes and stimulated some individuals to sign up with more than one betting provider. Conclusions: This research suggests that marketing plays a strong role in the normalisation of gambling in sports. This has the potential to increase the risks and subsequent harms associated with these products. Legislators must begin to consider the cultural lag between an evolving gambling landscape, which supports sophisticated marketing strategies, and effective policies and practices which aim to reduce and prevent gambling harm. © 2017 The Author(s)
Design of a retrospective study of computer-aided detection in mammographic screening: Computer Aided Detection Evaluation Trial
Media Management Tools: UK broadcast media executives’ perspective
The UK broadcast media landscape provides an interesting context to understand and explore the competitive dynamics of media organisations’. As an industry characterised by uncertainty and turbulence, this paper considers the process by which broadcast media organisations develop their strategies and the type of analytical tools that they use to underpin this process. This paper presents the findings of a survey of UK broadcast media executives and their views on the outlook for the UK Media Industry; the influence that the competitive environment has on developing media strategy; and the management tools that they use and their levels of satisfaction with these tools. It concludes that UK broadcast media is a competitive and turbulent environment, and that media strategy is developed using a number of media management tools that have varying degrees of success in terms of helping broadcast media executives to manage their media organisations’ in uncertain and complex conditions
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