The Superfluid State of Atomic Li6 in a Magnetic Trap

We report on a study of the superfluid state of spin-polarized atomic Li6 confined in a magnetic trap. Density profiles of this degenerate Fermi gas, and the spatial distribution of the BCS order parameter are calculated in the local density approximation. The critical temperature is determined as a function of the number of particles in the trap. Furthermore we consider the mechanical stability of an interacting two-component Fermi gas, both in the case of attractive and repulsive interatomic interactions. For spin-polarized Li6 we also calculate the decay rate of the gas, and show that within the mechanically stable regime of phase space, the lifetime is long enough to perform experiments on the gas below and above the critical temperature if a bias magnetic field of about 5 T is applied. Moreover, we propose that a measurement of the decay rate of the system might signal the presence of the superfluid state.Comment: 16 pages Revtex including 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Comparative Nationalism: Imperial Legacies and the Strength of Nationalism: The Case of China and India since the 1990s

Since the 1990s, there have been strong displays of nationalism in China, while in India the once dominant ‘secular’ nationalism has been challenged by a fragmentation of national identity along ethno--‐religious lines. This thesis seeks to explain why Chinese nationalism, since the 1990s, appears to be stronger and indeed more prevalent than nationalism in India. The phenomenon of nationalism in India and China has been extensively researched, yet there remains a deficiency in comparative research. Thereby, this thesis takes a historical Comparative approach through which five explanatory hypotheses are evaluated; these are entitled: direct rule, types of foreign rule, regime type, foreign threat, and diversity. The findings of this thesis suggest that China’s nationalism remains more prevalent since the 1990s, due to its experience of informal imperialism, a strong centralized Chinese state, and higher levels of militarized inter--‐state disputes. Simply, it is illustrated that because the experience of informal imperialism has centrally defined Chinese nationalism, it reacts Intensely to foreign threats that are equated to imperial acts, while the unified nature of nationalism is reinforced by a strong centralized state

Olfactomedin 4 Serves as a Marker for Disease Severity in Pediatric Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection

Funding: Statement of financial support: The study was financially supported by the VIRGO consortium, an Innovative Cluster approved by the Netherlands Genomics Initiative and partially funded by the Dutch Government (BSIK 03012). The authors have indicated they have no personal financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. Data Availability Statement: The data is accessible at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE69606.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Een echte boerderij met een echte boer : de waarde van agrarische productie bij multifunctionele landbouw

Wat is nu precies de meerwaarde van een ‘echte’ boerderij bij kinderopvang, boerengolf, een camping, educatie-activiteiten of het verlenen van zorg? Hoe belangrijk is het dat het bedrijf een deel van zijn inkomsten haalt uit de productie van melk of aardappelen en hoe beïnvloeden beide takken elkaar? Wat zeggen de afnemers over de combinatie van activiteiten en landbouw en hoe denken andere boeren en betrokken organisaties hierover? Allemaal vragen waarop deze brochure ingaat. De tekst is gebaseerd op interviews met multifunctionele ondernemers, klanten en organisaties die actief zijn in de multifunctionele landbouw

Behandeling een kans voor de zorgboer

Er ontstaan door de vele veranderingen in zorg, welzijn en arbeidsparticipatie nieuwe kansen voor zorgboeren. Behandeling is daarvan een uitdagend voorbeeld. Maar deze kans is er niet voor iedereen. Het vraagt nogal wat van je als mens en ondernemer. Hoe zorg je ervoor dat de nieuwe cliënten ook daadwerkelijk een goede behandeling krijgen? Wat betekent het voor de aandacht voor je huidige cliënten? Ben je in staat om met behandelaars samen te werken? En zo ja, op welke wijze? Deze brochure gaat in op al deze vragen via concrete voorbeelden. Dat gebeurt aan de hand van een aantal pionierende zorgboeren die al met behandeling op hun zorgboerderij aan de slag zijn gegaan

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide inhibits influenza virus infection of human macrophages and the consequent induction of CD8+ T cell immunity

Item does not contain fulltextIt is well established that infection with influenza A virus (IAV) facilitates secondary bacterial disease. However, there is a growing body of evidence that the microbial context in which IAV infection occurs can affect both innate and adaptive responses to the virus. To date, these studies have been restricted to murine models of disease and the relevance of these findings in primary human cells remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that pre-stimulation of primary human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) with the bacterial ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS) reduces the ability of IAV to infect these cells. The inhibition of IAV infection was associated with a reduced transcription of viral RNA and the ability of LPS to induce an anti-viral/type I interferon response in human MDMs. We demonstrated that this reduced rate of viral infection is associated with a reduced ability to present a model antigen to autologous CD8+ T cells. Taken together, these data provide the first evidence that exposure to bacterial ligands like LPS can play an important role in modulating the immune response of primary human immune cells towards IAV infection, which may then have important consequences for the development of the host's adaptive immune response

Immune sensing of Candida albicans requires cooperative recognition of mannans and glucans by lectin and Toll-like receptors

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

De meerwaarde van multifunctionele landbouw in krimpgebied Noordoost-Groningen

Uit dit onderzoek naar de meerwaarde van multifunctionele landbouw in het krimpgebied Noordoost-Groningen en de daarbij gevolgde redeneerlijnen, blijkt dat: De agrarische sector niet of nauwelijks betrokken wordt bij de plannen rondom krimp en niet in beeld is als verbindingspartner. De agrarische sector die rol zelf niet oppakt, omdat ze zich onvoldoende realiseert dat het bijdragen aan oplossingen voor het krimpvraagstuk kan worden gezien als een verduurzamingsstap van de landbouw Een belangrijke randvoorwaarde is dat bij zowel de agrarische sector als de andere partijen gewerkt wordt aan bewustwording

The Loss of Functional Caspase-12 in Europe Is a Pre-Neolithic Event

Contains fulltext : 109878.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Caspase-12 (CASP12) modulates the susceptibility to sepsis. In humans, the "C" allele at CASP12 rs497116 has been associated with an increased risk of sepsis. Instead, the derived "T" allele encodes for an inactive caspase-12. Interestingly, Eurasians are practically fixed for the inactive variant, whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa the active variant is still common (~24%). This marked structure has been explained as a function of the selective advantage that the inactive caspase-12 confers by increasing resistance to infection. As regards to both when positive selection started acting and as to the speed with which fixation was achieved in Eurasia, estimates depend on the method and assumptions used, and can vary substantially. Using experimental evidence, we propose that, least in Eurasia, the increase in the frequency of the T allele might be related to the selective pressure exerted by the increase in zoonotic diseases transmission caused by the interplay between increased human population densities and a closer contact with animals during the Neolithic. METHODOLOG/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We genotyped CASP12 rs497116 in prehistoric individuals from 6 archaeological sites from the North of the Iberian Peninsula that date from Late Upper Paleolithic to Late Neolithic. DNA extraction was done from teeth lacking cavities or breakages using standard anti-contamination procedures, including processing of the samples in a positive pressure, ancient DNA-only chamber, quantitation of DNAs by qPCR, duplication, replication, genotyping of associated animals, or cloning of PCR products. Out of 50, 24 prehistoric individuals could finally be genotyped for rs497116. Only the inactive form of CASP12 was found. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate that the loss of caspase-12 in Europe predates animal domestication and that consequently CASP12 loss is unlikely to be related to the impact of zoonotic infections transmitted by livestock