17,345 research outputs found
Multiloop Manual Control of Dynamic Systems
Human interaction with a simple, multiloop dynamic system in which the human's activity was systematically varied by changing the levels of automation was studied. The control loop structure resulting from the task definition parallels that for any multiloop manual control system, is considered a sterotype. Simple models of the human in the task, and upon extending a technique for describing the manner in which the human subjectively quantifies his opinion of task difficulty were developed. A man in the loop simulation which provides data to support and direct the analytical effort is presented
Intestinal epithelial responses to Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis: Effects on intestinal permeability and ion transport
Salmonella infection of chickens that leads to potential human foodborne salmonellosis continues to be a major concern. Chickens serve as carriers but, in contrast to humans, rarely show any clinical signs including diarrhea. The present investigations aimed to elucidate whether the absence of diarrhea during acute Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (Salmonella Enteritidis) infection may be linked to specific changes in the electrophysiological properties of the chicken gut. Immediately after slaughter, intestinal pieces of the mid-jejunum and cecum of either commercial broiler or specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens were mounted in Ussing chambers in 2 separate experimental series. Living Salmonella Enteritidis (3 × 109) or Salmonella Enteritidis endotoxin (20 mg/L), or both, were added to the mucosal side for 1 h. In both experimental series, the Salmonella infection decreased the trans-epithelial ion conductance Gt (P < 0.05). In the jejunum of SPF chickens, there was also a marked decrease in net charge transfer across the epithelium, evidenced by decreased short-circuit current (Isc, P < 0.05). Interestingly, the mucosal application of Salmonella endotoxin to the epithelial preparations from jejunum and cecum of SPF chicken had an effect similar to living bacteria. However, the endotoxin had no additional effect on the intestinal function in the presence of bacteria. The decreasing effect of Salmonella and or its endotoxin on Gt could be partly reversed by serosal addition of histamine. To our knowledge, this is the first study to address the functional response of native intestinal epithelium of chicken to an in vitro Salmonella infection. For the first time, it can be reported that intestinal ion permeability of chicken decreases acutely by the presence of Salmonella. This type of response could counteract ion and fluid secretion and may thus, at least in part, explain why chickens do not develop overt diarrhea after Salmonella infection
QC-DMRG study of the ionic--neutral curve crossing of LiF
We have studied the ionic--neutral curve crossing between the two lowest ^1
Sigma^+ states of LiF in order to demonstrate the efficiency of the quantum
chemistry version of the density matrix renormalization group method (QC-DMRG).
We show that QC-DMRG is capable to calculate the ground and several low-lying
excited state energies within the error margin set up in advance of the
calculation, while with standard quantum chemical methods it is difficult to
obtain a good approximation to Full CI property values at the point of the
avoided crossing. We have calculated the dipole moment as a function of bond
length, which in fact provides a smooth and continuous curve even close to the
avoided crossing, in contrast to other standard numerical treatments.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Magnon Heat Conductivity and Mean Free Paths in Two-Leg Spin Ladders: A Model-Independent Determination
The magnon thermal conductivity of the spin ladders
in has been investigated at low doping levels
, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75. The Zn-impurities generate nonmagnetic
defects which define an upper limit for and therefore allow
a clear-cut relation between and to
be established independently of any model. Over a large temperature range we
observe a progressive suppression of with increasing
Zn-content and find in particular that with respect to pure is strongly suppressed even in
the case of tiny impurity densities where ~{\AA}.
This shows unambiguously that large ~{\AA} which
have been reported for and on basis of a kinetic model are in the correct order
of magnitude
Campylobacter jejuni colonization promotes the translocation of Escherichia coli to extra-intestinal organs and disturbs the short-chain fatty acids profiles in the chicken gut
For a long time Campylobacter was only considered as a commensal microorganism in avian hosts restricted to the ceca, without any pathogenic features. The precise reasons for the symptomless chicken carriers are still unknown, but investigations of the gastrointestinal ecology of broiler chickens may improve our understanding of the microbial interactions with the host. Therefore, the current studies were conducted to investigate the effects of Campylobacter jejuni colonization on Escherichia coli translocation and on the metabolic end products (short-chain fatty acids, SCFAs). Following oral infection of 14 day old broiler chickens with 1 × 108 CFU of Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 12744 in two independent animal trials, it was found that C. jejuni heavily colonized the intestine and disseminate to extra-intestinal organs. Moreover, in both animal trials, the findings revealed that C. jejuni promoted the translocation of E. coli with a higher number encountered in the spleen and liver at 14 days post infection (dpi). In addition, Campylobacter affected the microbial fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract of broilers by reducing the amount of propionate, isovalerate, and isobutyrate in the cecal digesta of the infected birds at 2 dpi and, at 7 and 14 dpi, butyrate, isobutyrate, and isovalerate were also decreased. However, in the jejunum, the C. jejuni infection lowered only butyrate concentrations at 14 dpi. These data indicated that C. jejuni may utilize SCFAs as carbon sources to promote its colonization in the chicken gut, suggesting that Campylobacter cannot only alter gut colonization dynamics but might also influence physiological processes due to altered microbial metabolite profiles.
Finally, the results demonstrated that C. jejuni can cross the intestinal epithelial barrier and facilitates the translocation of Campylobacter itself as well as of other enteric microorganisms such as E. coli to extra-intestinal organs of infected birds. Altogether, our findings suggest that the Campylobacter carrier state in chicken is characterised by multiple changes in the intestinal barrier function, which supports multiplication and survival within the host
Highlights of unsteady pressure tests on a 14 percent supercritical airfoil at high Reynolds number, transonic condition
Steady and unsteady pressures were measured on a 2-D supercritical airfoil in the Langley Research Center 0.3-m Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel at Reynolds numbers from 6 x 1,000,000 to 35 x 1,000,000. The airfoil was oscillated in pitch at amplitudes from plus or minus .25 degrees to plus or minus 1.0 degrees at frequencies from 5 Hz to 60 Hz. The special requirements of testing an unsteady pressure model in a pressurized cryogenic tunnel are discussed. Selected steady measured data are presented and are compared with GRUMFOIL calculations at Reynolds number of 6 x 1,000,000 and 30 x 1,000,000. Experimental unsteady results at Reynolds numbers of 6 x 1,000,000 and 30 x 1,000,000 are examined for Reynolds number effects. Measured unsteady results at two mean angles of attack at a Reynolds number of 30 x 1,000,000 are also examined
Photoemission induced gating of topological insulator
The recently discovered topological insulators exhibit topologically
protected metallic surface states which are interesting from the fundamental
point of view and could be useful for various applications if an appropriate
electronic gating can be realized. Our photoemission study of Cu intercalated
Bi2Se3 shows that the surface states occupancy in this material can be tuned by
changing the photon energy and understood as a photoemission induced gating
effect. Our finding provides an effective tool to investigate the new physics
coming from the topological surface states and suggests the intercalation as a
recipe for synthesis of the material suitable for electronic applications.Comment: + resistivity data and some discussio
Magnon-Hole Scattering and Charge Order in
The magnon thermal conductivity of the hole doped
spin ladders in has been investigated at low
doping levels . The analysis of reveals a strong
doping and temperature dependence of the magnon mean free path
which is a local probe for the interaction of magnons with
the doped holes in the ladders. In particular, this novel approach to studying
charge degrees of freedom via spin excitations shows that charge ordering of
the holes in the ladders leads to a freezing out of magnon-hole scattering
processes
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