Rudder Gap Flow Control for Cavitation Suppression

For the suppression of rudder cavitation, especially within and around the gap between the stationary and movable parts, flow control devices were developed. In the present study, both experimental and computational analyses of the flow control devices were carried out. The new rudder system is equipped with cam devices, which effectively close the gap between the stationary horn/pintle and movable flaps. Model scale experiments of surface pressure measurements, flow field visualization near the gap using PIV, and cavitation behavior observation were conducted in a cavitation tunnel. The experiments were simulated using a computational fluid dynamics tool and the results are compared for validation. It is confirmed that the flow control devices effectively suppresses the rudder gap cavitation and, at the same time, augments lifthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/84266/1/CAV2009-final70.pd

Dynamical solution to the μ\mu problem at TeV scale

We introduce a new confining force (\mu-color) at TeV scale to dynamically generate a supersymmetry preserving mass scale which would replace the \mu parameter in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). We discuss the Higgs phenomenology and also the pattern of soft supersymmetry breaking parameters allowing the correct electroweak symmetry breaking within the \mu-color model, which have quite distinctive features from the MSSM and also from other generalizations of the MSSM.Comment: 12 pages, REVte

An Optical Source Catalog of the North Ecliptic Pole Region

We present a five (u*,g',r',i',z') band optical photometry catalog of the sources in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) region based on deep observations made with MegaCam at CFHT. The source catalog covers about 2 square degree area centered at the NEP and reaches depths of about 26 mag for u*, g', r' bands, about 25 mag for i' band, and about 24 mag for z' band (4 sigma detection over an 1 arcsec aperture). The total number of cataloged sources brighter than r'= 23 mag is about 56,000 including both point sources and extended sources. From the investigation of photometric properties using the color-magnitude diagrams and color-color diagrams, we have found that the colors of extended sources are mostly (u*-r') 0.5. This can be used to separate the extended sources from the point sources reliably, even for the faint source domain where typical morphological classification schemes hardly work efficiently. We have derived an empirical color-redshift relation of the red sequence galaxies using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. By applying this relation to our photometry catalog and searching for any spatial overdensities, we have found two galaxy clusters and one nearby galaxy group.Comment: 34 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJS. The pdf file with high resolution figures can be downloaded from http://astro.snu.ac.kr/~nhwang/index.files/nep.htm

MEF2 and the Right Ventricle: From Development to Disease

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a progressive and ultimately life-limiting disease in which survival is closely linked to right ventricular function. The right ventricle remains relatively understudied, as it is known to have key developmental and structural differences from the left ventricle. Here, we will highlight what is known about the right ventricle in normal physiology and in the disease state of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Specifically, we will explore the role of the family of MEF2 (myocyte enhancer factor 2) transcription factors in right ventricular development, its response to increased afterload, and in the endothelial dysfunction that characterizes pulmonary arterial hypertension. Finally, we will turn to review potentially novel therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways

UKIRT Widefield Infrared Survey for Fe+

The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT)Widefield Infrared Survey for Fe+ (UWIFE) is a 180 deg2 imaging survey of the first Galactic quadrant (7° < l < 62° |b| <1°.5) that uses a narrow-band filter centred on the [Fe II] 1.644-μm emission line. The [Fe II] 1.644-μm emission is a good tracer of dense, shock-excited gas, and the survey will probe violent environments around stars: star-forming regions, evolved stars, and supernova remnants, among others. The UWIFE survey is designed to complement the existing UKIRTW idefield Infrared Survey for H2 (UWISH2). The survey will also complement existing broad-band surveys. The observed images have a nominal 5Ï? detection limit of 18.7 mag for point sources, with a median seeing of 0.83 arcsec. For extended sources, we estimate a surface brightness limit of 8.1 Ã? 10-20 W m-2 arcsec-2. In this paper, we present an overview and some preliminary results of this survey. © 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society

CD1d-expressing Dendritic Cells but Not Thymic Epithelial Cells Can Mediate Negative Selection of NKT Cells

Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a unique immunoregulatory T cell population that is positively selected by CD1d-expressing thymocytes. Previous studies have shown that NKT cells exhibit autoreactivity, which raises the question of whether they are subject to negative selection. Here, we report that the addition of agonist glycolipid α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) to a fetal thymic organ culture (FTOC) induces a dose-dependent disappearance of NKT cells, suggesting that NKT cells are susceptible to negative selection. Overexpression of CD1d in transgenic (Tg) mice results in reduced numbers of NKT cells, and the residual NKT cells in CD1d-Tg mice exhibit both an altered Vβ usage and a reduced sensitivity to antigen. Furthermore, bone marrow (BM) chimeras between Tg and WT mice reveal that CD1d-expressing BM-derived dendritic cells, but not thymic epithelial cells, mediate the efficient negative selection of NKT cells. Thus, our data suggest that NKT cells developmentally undergo negative selection when engaged by high-avidity antigen or abundant self-antigen

MicroRNA 139-5p coordinates APLNR-CXCR4 crosstalk during vascular maturation

G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signalling, including that involving apelin (APLN) and its receptor APLNR, is known to be important in vascular development. How this ligand–receptor pair regulates the downstream signalling cascades in this context remains poorly understood. Here, we show that mice with Apln, Aplnr or endothelial-specific Aplnr deletion develop profound retinal vascular defects, which are at least in part due to dysregulated increase in endothelial CXCR4 expression. Endothelial CXCR4 is negatively regulated by miR-139-5p, whose transcription is in turn induced by laminar flow and APLN/APLNR signalling. Inhibition of miR-139-5p in vivo partially phenocopies the retinal vascular defects of APLN/APLNR deficiency. Pharmacological inhibition of CXCR4 signalling or augmentation of the miR-139-5p-CXCR4 axis can ameliorate the vascular phenotype of APLN/APLNR deficient state. Overall, we identify an important microRNA-mediated GPCR crosstalk, which plays a key role in vascular development

Impact of the conjugation of antibodies to the surfaces of polymer nanoparticles on the immune cell targeting abilities

Antibodies have been widely used to provide targeting ability and to enhance bioactivity owing to their high specificity, availability, and diversity. Recent advances in biotechnology and nanotechnology permit site-specific engineering of antibodies and their conjugation to the surfaces of nanoparticles (NPs) in various orientations through chemical conjugations and physical adhesions. This study proposes the conjugation of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs with antibodies by using two distinct methods, followed by a comparison between the cell-targeting efficiencies of both techniques. Full-length antibodies were conjugated to the PLGA-poly(ethylene glycol)-carboxylic acid (PLGA-PEG-COOH) NPs through the conventional carbodiimide coupling reaction, and f(ab′)2 antibody fragments were conjugated to the PLGA-poly(ethylene glycol)-maleimide(PLGA-PEG-Mal) NPs through interactions between the f(ab′)2 fragment thiol groups and the maleimide located on the nanoparticle surface. The results demonstrate that the PLGA nanoparticles conjugated with the f(ab′)2 antibody fragments had a higher targeting efficiency in vitro and in vivo than that of the PLGA nanoparticles conjugated with the full-length antibodies. The results of this study can be built upon to design a delivery technique for drugs through biocompatible nanoparticles.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2019R1A4A1028700 and NRF-2019R1C1C1006300). This work was supported by the Fourth Stage of Brain Korea 21 Project of the Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare and IBS-R015-D1

Results from the PARADIGM registry

Funding Information: This work was supported by the Korea Medical Device Development Fund grant funded by the Korean government (Ministry of Science and ICT; Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea; and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; Project Number: 202016B02) and funded in part by a generous gift from the Dalio Institute of Cardiovascular Imaging and the Michael Wolk Foundation. This work was also supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea [RS‐2022‐00165404, 2022R1A5A6000840, 2020R1I1A1A01073151]. The funder of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Clinical Cardiology published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC.Background and Hypothesis: The recently introduced Bayesian quantile regression (BQR) machine-learning method enables comprehensive analyzing the relationship among complex clinical variables. We analyzed the relationship between multiple cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and different stages of coronary artery disease (CAD) using the BQR model in a vessel-specific manner. Methods: From the data of 1,463 patients obtained from the PARADIGM (NCT02803411) registry, we analyzed the lumen diameter stenosis (DS) of the three vessels: left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCx), and right coronary artery (RCA). Two models for predicting DS and DS changes were developed. Baseline CV risk factors, symptoms, and laboratory test results were used as the inputs. The conditional 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 90% quantile functions of the maximum DS and DS change of the three vessels were estimated using the BQR model. Results: The 90th percentiles of the DS of the three vessels and their maximum DS change were 41%–50% and 5.6%–7.3%, respectively. Typical anginal symptoms were associated with the highest quantile (90%) of DS in the LAD; diabetes with higher quantiles (75% and 90%) of DS in the LCx; dyslipidemia with the highest quantile (90%) of DS in the RCA; and shortness of breath showed some association with the LCx and RCA. Interestingly, High-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed a dynamic association along DS change in the per-patient analysis. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the clinical utility of the BQR model for evaluating the comprehensive relationship between risk factors and baseline-grade CAD and its progression.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin