Evaluation tests of platinum resistance thermometers for a cryogenic wind tunnel application

Thirty-one commercially designed platinum resistance thermometers were evaluated for applicability to stagnation temperature measurements between -190 C and +65 C in the Langley Research Center's National Transonic Facility. Evaluation tests included X-ray shadowgraphs, calibrations before and after aging, and time constant measurements. Two wire-wound low thermal mass probes of a conventional design were chosen as most suitable for this cryogenic wind tunnel application

Cervical Cancer-Associated Human Papillomavirus 16 E7 Oncoprotein Inhibits Induction of Anti-Cancer Immunity by a CD4+ T Cell Dependent Mechanism

Attempts to develop therapeutic vaccines against cervical cancer have been proven difficult. One of the major causes of the failure is due to the use of the wrong mouse models based on transplantable tumours in testing the efficacy of vaccines. Now that a transgenic epithelial mouse model has been developed to closely mimic cervical cancer, the mechanisms needed to eliminate this type of cancer could be studied. The E7 oncoprotein of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most expressed HPV protein in cervical cancers and its continuous production is essential to maintain the cancerous state and therefore the obvious target in the development of vaccines. Skin grafts expressing the HPV 16 E7 protein (E7 autografts) are not spontaneously rejected from an MHC matched immunocompetent host. Interestingly, simultaneous placement of an MHC mismatched skin (allograft) next to an E7 autograft results in the E7 autograft rejection. However when the allograft also expresses E7, the E7 autograft is rejected more slowly. Autograft rejection requires CD8+ T cells, and is accelerated by removal of CD4+ T cells after placement of the E7 expressing allograft, suggesting induction of an E7 specific CD4+ regulatory T cell population by the E7 expressing allograft. This observation may have implications in designing effective vaccines and immunotherapy against cervical cancers in women

Binding energy of localized biexcitons in quantum wells

A variational calculation of the ground state energy of a biexciton in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well is presented. The well width fluctuations leading to trapping of the biexcitons are modeled by a parabolic potential. The results obtained for different well widths are compared with recent experimental data. Good agreement is obtained both for the biexciton binding energy and for the Haynes factor. We find that the structure of a biexciton is similar to the one of the H_2 molecule.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Foreword JSSE 54

Presentation of JSSE 54 general issue.

A preliminary study of factors affecting the calibration stability of the iridium versus iridium-40 percent rhodium thermocouple

An iridium versus iridium-40% rhodium thermocouple was studied. Problems associated with the use of this thermocouple for high temperature applications (up to 2000 C) were investigated. The metallurgical studies included X-ray, macroscopic, resistance, and metallographic studies. The thermocouples in the as-received condition from the manufacturer revealed large amounts of internal stress caused by cold working during manufacturing. The thermocouples also contained a large amount of inhomogeneities and segregations. No phase transformations were observed in the alloy up to 1100 C. It was found that annealing the thermocouple at 1800 C for two hours, and then at 1400 C for 2 to 3 hours yielded a fine grain structure, relieving some of the strains, and making the wire more ductile. It was also found that the above annealing procedure stabilized the thermal emf behavior of the thermocouple for application below 1800 C (an improvement from + or - 1% to + or - 0.02% within the range of the test parameters used)