Cal Poly Nano Hydro

This projects goal was to design, construct, and test a machine capable of generating a usable amount of energy from naturally flowing water. The device conceived for this purpose is a portable raft with a turbine mounted to the underside. The turbine is mated directly to a low angular velocity generator which outputs to a power electronics system on shore. Using a Gorlov Helical turbine, this proof-of-concept is designed to output ~50 Watts of electricity to charge a battery for later use. Possible applications for this device include camping in remote locations, supplemental power generation for a home, or for powering off-the-grid locations in developing countries

Scale Factor in Double Parton Collisions and Parton Densities in Transverse Space

The scale factor $\sigma_{eff}$, which characterizes double parton collisions in high energy hadron interactions, is a direct manifestation of the distribution of the interacting partons in transverse space, in such a way that different distributions give rise to different values of $\sigma_{eff}$ in different double parton collision processes. We work out the value of the scale factor in a few reactions of interest, in a correlated model of the multi-parton density of the proton recently proposed.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Um ano sem Alcir Monticelli (1946-2001)

On August 5th, one year passed since Alcir Monticelli left us. His legacy is very present in power system applications, which was his speciality. Significant improvements in power systems have undergone in the last decades and Alcir Monticelli has importantly taken part of the transformation process with his amazing capacity to interact with the academic area as a professor and also as a researcher working toward practical solutions to the most challenging problems in power systems. In this article, which is an invitation from Revista Controle & Automação (SBA) to honor the Alcir's memory, we will remember some of his major contributions to the power systems area and also register the recognition of his work worldwide.No dia cinco de agosto passado fez um ano que Alcir Monticelli nos deixou. Seu legado está certamente presente nas aplicações de sistemas de potência, em que era especialista. Nas últimas décadas, têm-se observado avanços significativos na área de sistemas de potência e Alcir Monticelli tomou parte importante nesse processo de transformação, com sua impressionante capacidade de interagir com a área acadêmica como professor e também como pesquisador que busca soluções práticas para os problemas mais desafiadores na área de sistemas de potência. Neste texto, feito a convite da Revista Controle & Automação (SBA), que manifestou o desejo de homenageá-lo, procuraremos relembrar algumas de suas maiores contribuições para a área de sistemas de potência, bem como registrar o reconhecimento mundial de seu trabalho.879

A double parton scattering background to Higgs boson production at the LHC

The experimental capability of recognizing the presence of b quarks in complex hadronic final states has addressed the attention towards final states with b\bar{b} pairs for observing the production of the Higgs boson at the LHC, in the intermediate Higgs mass range.We point out that double parton scattering processes are going to represent a sizeable background to the process.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Double parton scatterings in b-quark pairs production at the LHC

A sizable rate of events where two pairs of b-quarks are produced contemporarily is foreseen at the CERN LHC, as a consequence of the large parton luminosity. At very high energies both single and the double parton scatterings contribute to the process, the latter mechanisms, although power suppressed, giving the dominant contribution to the integrated cross section.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Proton Structure in Transverse Space and the Effective Cross Section

The observation of double parton collisions by CDF has provided the first direct information on the structure of the proton in transverse space. The actual quantity which has been measured is the `effective cross section' $\sigma_{eff}$, which is related to the transverse size of the region where hard interactions are localized. The actual value which has been measured is sizably smaller than naively expected and it is an indication of important correlation effects in the many-body parton distribution of the proton. We discuss the problem pointing out a possible source of correlations in the proton structure, which could have a significant effect on the value of $\sigma_{eff}$.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Association of paraoxonase 1 gene polymorphism with Intima-Media Thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries in japanese type 2 diabetic patients

Purpose: We investigated the association between paraoxonase 1 (PON1)-192 genotypes and intimamedia thickness (IMT) of carotid arteries in diabetic patients. Methods: One hundred and fifty-five Japanese type 2 diabetic patients aged from 40 to 79 years were enrolled in this study. Genotypes of the patients were determined using the PCR-RFLP method. The IMT of carotid arteries of the subjects was measured by ultrasound imaging. Results: The PON1 genotypes frequencies were as follows: 18QQ (0.116), 70QR (0.452) and 67RR (0.432). IMT values of the RR group were significantly greater (1.08±0.41 mm, n=67) than those of the Q group, which consisted of patients carrying one or two Q alleles (0.95±0.27 mm, n=88, P=0.023). There were no significant difference in the clinical characteristics between the two groups. Conclusion: The results indicate that the PON1-192RR genotype is associated with intima media thickening of the carotid arteries in diabetic patients

Molecular and functional heterogeneity of IL-10-producing CD4 + T cells

IL-10 is a prototypical anti-inflammatory cytokine, which is fundamental to the maintenance of immune homeostasis, especially in the intestine. There is an assumption that cells producing IL-10 have an immunoregulatory function. However, here we report that IL-10-producing CD4 + T cells are phenotypically and functionally heterogeneous. By combining single cell transcriptome and functional analyses, we identified a subpopulation of IL-10-producing Foxp3 neg CD4 + T cells that displays regulatory activity unlike other IL-10-producing CD4 + T cells, which are unexpectedly pro-inflammatory. The combinatorial expression of co-inhibitory receptors is sufficient to discriminate IL-10-producing CD4 + T cells with regulatory function from others and to identify them across different tissues and disease models in mice and humans. These regulatory IL-10-producing Foxp3 neg CD4 + T cells have a unique transcriptional program, which goes beyond the regulation of IL-10 expression. Finally, we found that patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease demonstrate a deficiency in this specific regulatory T-cell subpopulation