417 research outputs found
A novel factor I activity in Nipah virus inhibits human complement pathways through cleavage of C3b
Complement is an innate immune system that most animal viruses must face during natural infections. Given that replication and dissemination of the highly pathogenic Nipah virus (NiV) include exposure to environments rich in complement factors, we tested the in vitro sensitivity of NiV to complement-mediated neutralization. Here we show that NiV was completely resistant to in vitro neutralization by normal human serum (NHS). Treatment of purified NiV with NHS activated complement pathways, but there was very little C3 deposition on virus particles. In in vitro reconstitution experiments, NiV particles provided timeand dose-dependent factor I-like protease activity capable of cleaving C3b into inactive C3b (iC3b). NiV-dependent inactivation of C3b only occurred with the cofactors factor H and soluble CR1 but not with CD46. Purified NiV particles did not support C4b cleavage. Electron microscopy of purified NiV particles showed immunogold labeling with anti-factor I antibodies. Our results suggest a novel mechanism by which NiV evades the human complement system through a unique factor I-like activity
Scattering of elastic waves by periodic arrays of spherical bodies
We develop a formalism for the calculation of the frequency band structure of
a phononic crystal consisting of non-overlapping elastic spheres, characterized
by Lam\'e coefficients which may be complex and frequency dependent, arranged
periodically in a host medium with different mass density and Lam\'e
coefficients. We view the crystal as a sequence of planes of spheres, parallel
to and having the two dimensional periodicity of a given crystallographic
plane, and obtain the complex band structure of the infinite crystal associated
with this plane. The method allows one to calculate, also, the transmission,
reflection, and absorption coefficients for an elastic wave (longitudinal or
transverse) incident, at any angle, on a slab of the crystal of finite
thickness. We demonstrate the efficiency of the method by applying it to a
specific example.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, Phys. Rev. B (in press
LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products
(Abridged) We describe here the most ambitious survey currently planned in
the optical, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). A vast array of
science will be enabled by a single wide-deep-fast sky survey, and LSST will
have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is
driven by four main science themes: probing dark energy and dark matter, taking
an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and
mapping the Milky Way. LSST will be a wide-field ground-based system sited at
Cerro Pach\'{o}n in northern Chile. The telescope will have an 8.4 m (6.5 m
effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg field of view, and a 3.2 Gigapixel
camera. The standard observing sequence will consist of pairs of 15-second
exposures in a given field, with two such visits in each pointing in a given
night. With these repeats, the LSST system is capable of imaging about 10,000
square degrees of sky in a single filter in three nights. The typical 5
point-source depth in a single visit in will be (AB). The
project is in the construction phase and will begin regular survey operations
by 2022. The survey area will be contained within 30,000 deg with
, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ,
covering the wavelength range 320--1050 nm. About 90\% of the observing time
will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will uniformly observe a
18,000 deg region about 800 times (summed over all six bands) during the
anticipated 10 years of operations, and yield a coadded map to . The
remaining 10\% of the observing time will be allocated to projects such as a
Very Deep and Fast time domain survey. The goal is to make LSST data products,
including a relational database of about 32 trillion observations of 40 billion
objects, available to the public and scientists around the world.Comment: 57 pages, 32 color figures, version with high-resolution figures
available from https://www.lsst.org/overvie
Demonstration of the temporal matter-wave Talbot effect for trapped matter waves
We demonstrate the temporal Talbot effect for trapped matter waves using
ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. We investigate the phase evolution of an
array of essentially non-interacting matter waves and observe matter-wave
collapse and revival in the form of a Talbot interference pattern. By using
long expansion times, we image momentum space with sub-recoil resolution,
allowing us to observe fractional Talbot fringes up to 10th order.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
Azimuthal anisotropy at RHIC: the first and fourth harmonics
We report the first observations of the first harmonic (directed flow, v_1),
and the fourth harmonic (v_4), in the azimuthal distribution of particles with
respect to the reaction plane in Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion
Collider (RHIC). Both measurements were done taking advantage of the large
elliptic flow (v_2) generated at RHIC. From the correlation of v_2 with v_1 it
is determined that v_2 is positive, or {\it in-plane}. The integrated v_4 is
about a factor of 10 smaller than v_2. For the sixth (v_6) and eighth (v_8)
harmonics upper limits on the magnitudes are reported.Comment: 6 pages with 3 figures, as accepted for Phys. Rev. Letters The data
tables are at
http://www.star.bnl.gov/central/publications/pubDetail.php?id=3
Integrated motor drives: state of the art and future trends
With increased need for high power density, high efficiency and high temperature capabilities in Aerospace and Automotive applications, Integrated Motor Drives (IMD) offers a potential solution. However, close physical integration of the converter and the machine may also lead to an increase in components temperature. This requires careful mechanical, structural and thermal analysis; and design of the IMD system.
This paper reviews existing IMD technologies and their thermal effects on the IMD system. The effects of the power electronics (PE) position on the IMD system and its respective thermal management concepts are also investigated. The challenges faced in designing and manufacturing of an IMD along with the mechanical and structural impacts of close physical integration is also discussed and potential solutions are provided. Potential converter topologies for an IMD like the Matrix converter, 2-level Bridge, 3-level NPC and Multiphase full bridge converters are also reviewed. Wide band gap devices like SiC and GaN and their packaging in power modules for IMDs are also discussed. Power modules components and packaging technologies are also presented
Design and construction of the MicroBooNE detector
This paper describes the design and construction of the MicroBooNE liquid
argon time projection chamber and associated systems. MicroBooNE is the first
phase of the Short Baseline Neutrino program, located at Fermilab, and will
utilize the capabilities of liquid argon detectors to examine a rich assortment
of physics topics. In this document details of design specifications, assembly
procedures, and acceptance tests are reported
Genomewide meta-analysis identifies loci associated with IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels with impact on age-related traits
The growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis can be manipulated in animal models to promote longevity, and IGF-related proteins including IGF-I and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) have also been implicated in risk of human diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Throug
Novel genetic loci associated with hippocampal volume
The hippocampal formation is a brain structure integrally involved in episodic memory, spatial navigation, cognition and stress responsiveness. Structural abnormalities in hippocampal volume and shape are found in several common neuropsychiatric disorders. To identify the genetic underpinnings of hippocampal structure here we perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 33,536 individuals and discover six independent loci significantly associated with hippocampal volume, four of them novel. Of the novel loci, three lie within genes (ASTN2, DPP4 and MAST4) and one is found 200 kb upstream of SHH. A hippocampal subfield analysis shows that a locus within the MSRB3 gene shows evidence of a localized effect along the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1 and fissure. Further, we show that genetic variants associated with decreased hippocampal volume are also associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (rg =-0.155). Our findings suggest novel biological pathways through which human genetic variation influences hippocampal volume and risk for neuropsychiatric illness
Mid-rapidity anti-proton to proton ratio from Au+Au collisions at GeV
We report results on the ratio of mid-rapidity anti-proton to proton yields
in Au+Au collisions at \rts = 130 GeV per nucleon pair as measured by the
STAR experiment at RHIC. Within the rapidity and transverse momentum range of
and 0.4 1.0 GeV/, the ratio is essentially independent of
either transverse momentum or rapidity, with an average of for minimum bias collisions. Within errors, no
strong centrality dependence is observed. The results indicate that at this
RHIC energy, although the -\pb pair production becomes important at
mid-rapidity, a significant excess of baryons over anti-baryons is still
present.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. Let
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