1,469 research outputs found
Bulk superconductivity in Bi4O4S3 revealed by specific heat measurement
Specific heat experiments on a well-characterized polycrystalline sample of
the BiS2 based superconductor Bi4O4S3 revealed that it shows a crear specific
heat anomaly at about Tc = 4.4 K, consistent with Tc from the resistivity and
dc susceptibility. This observation indicates the superconductivity of Bi4O4S3
to be bulk in nature
The chemotherapeutic agent DMXAA as a unique IRF3-dependent type-2 vaccine adjuvant
5,6-Dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA), a potent type I interferon (IFN) inducer, was evaluated as a chemotherapeutic agent in mouse cancer models and proved to be well tolerated in human cancer clinical trials. Despite its multiple biological functions, DMXAA has not been fully characterized for the potential application as a vaccine adjuvant. In this report, we show that DMXAA does act as an adjuvant due to its unique property as a soluble innate immune activator. Using OVA as a model antigen, DMXAA was demonstrated to improve on the antigen specific immune responses and induce a preferential Th2 (Type-2) response. The adjuvant effect was directly dependent on the IRF3-mediated production of type-I-interferon, but not IL-33. DMXAA could also enhance the immunogenicity of influenza split vaccine which led to significant increase in protective responses against live influenza virus challenge in mice compared to split vaccine alone. We propose that DMXAA can be used as an adjuvant that targets a specific innate immune signaling pathway via IRF3 for potential applications including vaccines against influenza which requires a high safety profile
Alcoholic beverages induce superconductivity in FeTeS
We found that hot alcoholic beverages were effective in inducing
superconductivity in FeTeS0. Heating FeTeS0
compound in various alcoholic beverages enhances the superconducting properties
compared to pure water-ethanol mixture as a control. Heating with red wine for
24 hours leads to the largest shielding volume fraction of 62.4% and the
highest zero resistivity temperature of 7.8 K. Some components present in
alcoholic beverages, other than water and ethanol, have the ability to induce
superconductivity in FeTeS0 compound.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Supercond. Sci.
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