1,902 research outputs found
SPONTANEOUS-RECOVERY OF RATS FROM EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS IS DEPENDENT ON REGULATION OF THE IMMUNE-SYSTEM BY ENDOGENOUS ADRENAL CORTICOSTEROIDS
Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) ' is a paralytic disease that can be induced in a number of animal species by evoking immune responses to antigens in central nervous system (CNS) myelin, and has been studied as a model for multiple sclerosis in man (1). In Lewis rats EAE can be induced either by immunization with guinea pig myelin basic protein (MBP) in CFA (active EAE) or by the intravenous injection into naive syngeneic recipients of spleen cells from animals with active EAE, after in vitro culture of the splenocytes with MBP (passive EAE). The ascending paralysis characteristic of EAE is caused by the action of CD4+ T lymphocytes that produce focal edema in the CNS by increasing vascular permeability (2-4). In both active and passive EAE, animals develop a transient paralysis, and recover completely within 4-5 d of its onset (5). The mechanisms responsible for this spontaneous recovery, which may be similar to the acute remissions occasionally seen in multiple sclerosis, are still poorly understood. Various mechanisms have been proposed, including: suppressor cells (T lymphocytes [6-9], B lymphocytes [10], and macrophages [11]), anti-T lymphocyte idiotype responses (12), serum suppressor factors (13-16), production ofimmunosuppressive factors by filial cells (17-19), regulation by IFN-'Y (20), and neuroendocrine-mediated immunoregulation (21, 22). None of these mechanisms has been shown directly to be necessary for spontaneous recovery from EAE. It has, however, been demonstrated that CD8+ T lymphocytes are not required (23-25). Here we demonstrate that endogenously produced corticosterone plays an essential role in the spontaneous recovery of rats from EAE. Downloaded from jem.rupress.org on February 21, 201
(Re)fashioning Biafra: identity, authorship and the politics of dress in half of a yellow sun and other narratives of the Nigeria-Biafra war
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s second novel, Half of a Yellow (2006), is one in a long line of works by Nigerian authors to portray the Nigeria-Biafra War (1967-1970). While Adichie has stated that she wanted to make modern Nigeria aware of its history by writing the novel, the writer has also revealed that she drew from past literary portrayals to construct her narrative. In order to untangle the complex construction of Half of a Yellow Sun, this article explores the way the novel negotiates the literary legacy of Biafra through material fashion, which I argue elucidates this complex intertextuality. Furthermore, I contend that the novel draws attention to and critiques the way that understanding of Biafra has been dominated by novels written by male authors, and weaves threads of material fashion in order to offer a new way of negotiating Nigerian history
The X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert I galaxy Markarian 766: Dusty warm absorber or relativistic emission lines?
Competing models for broad spectral features in the soft X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert I galaxy Mrk 766 are tested against data from a 130 ks XMM-Newton observation. A model including relativistically broadened Lyalpha emission lines of O VIII N VII and C VI is a better fit to 0.3-2 keV XMM RGS data than a dusty warm absorber. Moreover, the measured depth of neutral iron absorption lines in the spectrum is inconsistent with the magnitude of the iron edge required to produce the continuum break at 17-18 Angstrom in the dusty warm absorber model. The relativistic emission line model can reproduce the broadband (0.1-12 keV) XMM EPIC data with the addition of a fourth line to represent emission from ionized iron at 6.7 keV and an excess due to reflection at energies above the iron line. The pro le of the 6.7 keV iron line is consistent with that measured for the low-energy lines. There is evidence in the RGS data, at the 3sigma level, of spectral features that vary with source flux. The covering fraction of warm absorber gas is estimated to be 12%. Iron in the warm absorber is found to be overabundant with respect to CNO, compared to solar values
XMM-Newton observations of the ultra-compact binary RX J1914+24
We present XMM–Newton observations of the 569-s-period system RX J1914+24 (V407 Vul). This period is believed to represent the binary orbital period making it an ultracompact binary system. By comparing the phase of the rise to maximum X-ray flux at various epochs (this includes observations made using ROSAT, ASCA and Chandra) we find that the system is spinning up at a rate of 3.17 ± 0.07 × 10−12 s s−1. We find that the spectra soften as the X-ray flux declines towards the off-phase of the 569-s period. Further, the spectra are best fitted by an absorbed blackbody component together with a broad emission feature around 0.59 keV. This emission feature is most prominent at the peak of the on-phase. We speculate on its origin
LiftUpp: Support to Develop Learner Performance
Various motivations exist to move away from the simple assessment of
knowledge towards the more complex assessment and development of competence.
However, to accommodate such a change, high demands are put on the supporting
e-infrastructure in terms of intelligently collecting and analysing data. In
this paper, we discuss these challenges and how they are being addressed by
LiftUpp, a system that is now used in 70% of UK dental schools, and is finding
wider applications in physiotherapy, medicine and veterinary science. We
describe how data is collected for workplace-based development in dentistry
using a dedicated iPad app, which enables an integrated approach to linking and
assessing work flows, skills and learning outcomes. Furthermore, we detail how
the various forms of collected data can be fused, visualized and integrated
with conventional forms of assessment. This enables curriculum integration,
improved real-time student feedback, support for administration, and informed
instructional planning. Together these facets contribute to better support for
the development of learners' competence in situated learning setting, as well
as an improved experience. Finally, we discuss several directions for future
research on intelligent teaching systems that are afforded by using the design
present within LiftUpp.Comment: Short 4-page version to appear at AIED 201
Spinor Helicity and Dual Conformal Symmetry in Ten Dimensions
The spinor helicity formalism in four dimensions has become a very useful
tool both for understanding the structure of amplitudes and also for practical
numerical computation of amplitudes. Recently, there has been some discussion
of an extension of this formalism to higher dimensions. We describe a
particular implementation of the spinor-helicity method in ten dimensions.
Using this tool, we study the tree-level S-matrix of ten dimensional super
Yang-Mills theory, and prove that the theory enjoys a dual conformal symmetry.
Implications for four-dimensional computations are discussed.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure
The Kinematic Algebra From the Self-Dual Sector
We identify a diffeomorphism Lie algebra in the self-dual sector of
Yang-Mills theory, and show that it determines the kinematic numerators of
tree-level MHV amplitudes in the full theory. These amplitudes can be computed
off-shell from Feynman diagrams with only cubic vertices, which are dressed
with the structure constants of both the Yang-Mills colour algebra and the
diffeomorphism algebra. Therefore, the latter algebra is the dual of the colour
algebra, in the sense suggested by the work of Bern, Carrasco and Johansson. We
further study perturbative gravity, both in the self-dual and in the MHV
sectors, finding that the kinematic numerators of the theory are the BCJ
squares of the Yang-Mills numerators.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures. v2: references added, published versio
Yangian in the Twistor String
We study symmetries of the quantized open twistor string. In addition to
global PSL(4|4) symmetry, we find non-local conserved currents. The associated
non-local charges lead to Ward identities which show that these charges
annihilate the string gluon tree amplitudes, and have the same form as
symmetries of amplitudes in N=4 super conformal Yang Mills theory. We describe
how states of the open twistor string form a realization of the PSL(4|4)
Yangian superalgebra.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figure
Note on New KLT relations
In this short note, we present two results about KLT relations discussed in
recent several papers. Our first result is the re-derivation of Mason-Skinner
MHV amplitude by applying the S_{n-3} permutation symmetric KLT relations
directly to MHV amplitude. Our second result is the equivalence proof of the
newly discovered S_{n-2} permutation symmetric KLT relations and the well-known
S_{n-3} permutation symmetric KLT relations. Although both formulas have been
shown to be correct by BCFW recursion relations, our result is the first direct
check using the regularized definition of the new formula.Comment: 15 Pages; v2: minor correction
Note on Bonus Relations for N=8 Supergravity Tree Amplitudes
We study the application of non-trivial relations between gravity tree
amplitudes, the bonus relations, to all tree-level amplitudes in N=8
supergravity. We show that the relations can be used to simplify explicit
formulae of supergravity tree amplitudes, by reducing the known form as a sum
of (n-2)! permutations obtained by solving on-shell recursion relations, to a
new form as a (n-3)!-permutation sum. We demonstrate the simplification by
explicit calculations of the next-to-maximally helicity violating (NMHV) and
next-to-next-to-maximally helicity violating (N^2MHV) amplitudes, and provide a
general pattern of bonus coefficients for all tree-level amplitudes.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures; v2, minor changes, references adde
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