Modulation of Functional Activities of Chicken Heterophils by Recombinant Chicken IFN-γ

The objective of the present studies was to examine the in vitro effects of recombinant chicken interferon-γ (rChIFN-γ) on shape change, phagocytosis, and the oxidative/nonoxidative killing activities of day-old chicken heterophils. Heterophils (4 × 106/ml) were incubated with various concentrations of recombinant ChIFN-γ from both Escherichia coli and transfected Cos cells for 2 h at 39°C. The incubation of the neonatal heterophils with rChIFN-γ resulted in significantly greater numbers of cells with membrane shape change when compared with the mock-treated heterophils. Both Cos cell-derived and E. coli-derived ChIFN-γ significantly increased (p < 0.01) the phagocytosis of opsonized or nonopsonized Salmonella enteritidis by the neonatal heterophils in a concentration-dependent manner. Incubation with ChIFN-γ induced no direct stimulation of the respiratory burst by the chicken heterophils but did prime the heterophils for a significantly strengthened respiratory burst to subsequent stimulation with opsonized zymosan (OZ). Lastly, incubation of the heterophils with ChIFN-γ primed the cells for a significant increase in the release of β-D-glucuronidase following stimulation with OZ. These results show that neonatal avian heterophils can respond to cytokine modulation with enhanced functional competence, suggesting that ChIFN-γ can enhance the immune competence of the innate defenses of chickens during the first week of life

Non-Perturbative Renormalization Group Flows in Two-Dimensional Quantum Gravity

Recently a block spin renormalization group approach was proposed for the dynamical triangulation formulation of two-dimensional quantum gravity. We use this approach to examine non-perturbatively a particular class of higher derivative actions for pure gravity.Comment: 17 page

THE VOLUME OPERATOR IN DISCRETIZED QUANTUM GRAVITY

We investigate the spectral properties of the volume operator in quantum gravity in the framework of a previously introduced lattice discretization. The presence of a well-defined scalar product in this approach permits us to make definite statements about the hermiticity of quantum operators. We find that the spectrum of the volume operator is discrete, but that the nature of its eigenstates differs from that found in an earlier continuum treatment.Comment: 15 pages, TeX, 3 figures (postscript, compressed and uu-encoded), May 9

Non-Compact QED_3 with N_f=1 and N_f=4

We present numerical results for non-compact three-dimensional QED for numbers of flavors N_f=1 and N_f=4.In particular, we address the issue of whether chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken in the continuum limit, and obtain a positive answer for N_f=1, with a dimensionless condensate estimated to be beta^2 ~= O(10^-3), implying that the critical number of flavors N_fc>1. We also compare the N_f=1 and N_f=4 models by analysing the transition from strong to weak coupling behaviour using an equation of state based on a continuous phase transition. While some qualitative differences emerge, it appears difficult to determine whether N_f=4 lies above or below N_fc.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure

Diquark condensation in dense SU(2) matter

We report on a lattice study of two-color QCD with adjoint staggered fermions at high density. We find that the model has no early onset and we report on results for diquark condensation, from simulations with and without a diquark source term.Comment: Lattice2001(hightemp

Portfolio configuration and foreign entry decisions: A juxtaposition of real options and risk diversification theories

Research Summary Research on foreign market entry has rarely considered that multinational firms' new entries may be affected by the configuration of their existing affiliates. We argue that in making entry decisions, firms take into account how an entry into a new location helps increase the operational flexibility of their affiliate portfolios due to options to switch operations across affiliates in case of diverging labor cost developments across host countries. We juxtapose this real options‐based explanation with a risk diversification explanation. Analysis of Japanese multinational firms' foreign entry decisions suggests that the two explanations are complementary. We also establish portfolio‐level boundary conditions to the influence of operational flexibility considerations on entry, in the form of product diversification and the nature of dispersion of labor cost levels. Managerial Summary When deciding on whether to enter a foreign market, managers of a multinational firm are intuitively aware that they need to consider how the economic environment of the target host country is related to the environments of the existing countries in which the firm operates. The less the environments are correlated with each other, whether in terms of input cost or market demand conditions, the greater the chance that the firm may capture cost savings and reduce sales volatility globally. These benefits arise from a switching option to shift operations flexibly across countries and from an ability to reduce risk by holding a portfolio of diversified global investments. Our findings support both sets of considerations, suggesting that companies do give due attention to correlations in labor cost and market demand between the target host country to enter and the existing host countries

ARCADE: Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission

The Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission (ARCADE) is a balloon-borne instrument designed to measure the temperature of the cosmic microwave background at centimeter wavelengths. ARCADE searches for deviations from a blackbody spectrum resulting from energy releases in the early universe. Long-wavelength distortions in the CMB spectrum are expected in all viable cosmological models. Detecting these distortions or showing that they do not exist is an important step for understanding the early universe. We describe the ARCADE instrument design, current status, and future plans.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Proceedings of the Fundamental Physics With CMB workshop, UC Irvine, March 23-25, 2006, to be published in New Astronomy Review

Solutions to a Simplified Initial Boundary Value Problem for 1D Hyperbolic Equation with Interior Degeneracy

A 1-parameter initial boundary value problem (IBVP) for a linear homogeneousdegenerate wave equation (JODEA, 28(1), 1) in a space-time rectangle is considered. The origin of degeneracy is the power law coefficient function with respect to the spatial distance to the symmetry line of the rectangle, the exponent being the only parameter of the problem, ranging in (0,1) and (1,2) and producing the weak and strong degeneracy respectively. In the case of weak degeneracy separation of variables is used in the rectangle to obtain the unique bounded continuous solution to the IBVP, having the continuous flux. In the case of strong degeneracy the IBVP splits into the two derived IBVPs posed respectively in left and right half-rectangles and solved separately using separation of variables. Continuous matching of the obtained left and right families of bounded solutions to the IBVPs results in a linear integro-differential equation of convolution type. The Laplace transformation is used to solve the equation and obtain a family of bounded solutions to the IBVP, having the continuous flux and depending on one undetermined function.A 1-parameter initial boundary value problem (IBVP) for a linear homogeneousdegenerate wave equation (JODEA, 28(1), 1 â“ 42) in a space-time rectangle is considered. The origin of degeneracy is the power law coefficient function with respect to the spatial distance to the symmetry line of the rectangle, the exponent being the only parameter of the problem, ranging in (0,1) and (1,2) and producing the weak and strong degeneracy respectively. In the case of weak degeneracy separation of variables is used in the rectangle to obtain the unique bounded continuous solution to the IBVP, having the continuous flux. In the case of strong degeneracy the IBVP splits into the two derived IBVPs posed respectively in left and right half-rectangles and solved separately using separation of variables. Continuous matching of the obtained left and right families of bounded solutions to the IBVPs results in a linear integro-differential equation of convolution type. The Laplace transformation is used to solve the equation and obtain a family of bounded solutions to the IBVP, having the continuous flux and depending on one undetermined function