Kondo-Dicke resonances in electronic transport through triple quantum dots

Electronic transport through a triple quantum dot system, with only a single dot coupled directly to external leads, is considered theoretically. The model includes Coulomb correlations in the central dot, while such correlations in the two side-coupled dots are omitted. The infinite-U mean-field slave-boson approach is used to obtain basic transport characteristics in the Kondo regime. When tuning position of the side-coupled dots' levels, transition from subradiant to superradiant like mode (and vice versa) has been found in the spectral function, in analogy to the Dicke effect in atomic physics. Bias dependence of the differential conductance and zero frequency shot noise is also analysed.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure

HLA-Associated viral mutations are common in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 elite controllers

Elite controllers (EC) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HTV-1) maintain viremia below the limit of detection without antiretroviral treatment. Virus-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes are believed to play a crucial role in viral containment, but the degree of immune imprinting and compensatory mutations in EC is unclear. We obtained plasma gag, pol, and nef sequences from HLA-diverse subjects and found that 30 to 40% of the predefined HLA-associated polymorphic sites show evidence of immune selection pressure in EC., compared to approximately 50% of the sites in chronic progressors. These data indicate ongoing viral replication and escape from cytotoxic T lymphocytes are present even in strictly controlled HTV-1 infection

Silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) devices and their use in comb-based communication systems

Advanced wavelength-division multiplex-ing (WDM) requires both efficient multi-wavelength light sources to generate optical carriers and highly scalable photonic-electronic interfaces to encode data on these carriers. In this paper, we give an overview on our recent progress regarding silicon-organic hy-brid (SOH) integration and comb-based WDM transmission

Lack of Detectable HIV-1–Specific CD8+ T Cell Responses in Zambian HIV-1–Exposed Seronegative Partners of HIV-1–Positive Individuals

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)–specific T cell responses were characterized in a blinded study involving infected individuals and their seronegative exposed uninfected (EU) partners from Lusaka, Zambia. HIV-1–specific T cell responses were detected ex vivo in all infected individuals and amplified, on average, 27-fold following in vitro expansion. In contrast, no HIV-1–specific T cell responses were detected in any of the EU partners ex vivo or following in vitro expansion. These data demonstrate that the detection of HIV-1–specific T cell immunity in EU individuals is not universal and that alternative mechanisms may account for protection in these individuals

Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of native and non-native Pinus and Quercus species in a common garden of 35-year-old trees

Non-native tree species have been widely planted or have become naturalized in most forested landscapes. It is not clear if native trees species collectively differ in ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) diversity and communities from that of non-native tree species. Alternatively, EMF species community similarity may be more determined by host plant phylogeny than by whether the plant is native or non-native. We examined these unknowns by comparing two genera, native and non-native Quercus robur and Quercus rubra and native and non-native Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra in a 35-year-old common garden in Poland. Using molecular and morphological approaches, we identified EMF species from ectomycorrhizal root tips and sporocarps collected in the monoculture tree plots. A total of 69 EMF species were found, with 38 species collected only as sporocarps, 18 only as ectomycorrhizas, and 13 both as ectomycorrhizas and sporocarps. The EMF species observed were all native and commonly associated with a Holarctic range in distribution. We found that native Q. robur had ca. 120% higher total EMF species richness than the non-native Q. rubra, while native P. sylvestris had ca. 25% lower total EMF species richness than non-native P. nigra. Thus, across genera, there was no evidence that native species have higher EMF species diversity than exotic species. In addition, we found a higher similarity in EMF communities between the two Pinus species than between the two Quercus species. These results support the naturalization of non-native trees by means of mutualistic associations with cosmopolitan and novel fungi

Viral adaptation to immune selection pressure by HLA class I–restricted CTL responses targeting epitopes in HIV frameshift sequences

CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)–mediated immune responses to HIV contribute to viral control in vivo. Epitopes encoded by alternative reading frame (ARF) peptides may be targeted by CTLs as well, but their frequency and in vivo relevance are unknown. Using host genetic (human leukocyte antigen [HLA]) and plasma viral sequence information from 765 HIV-infected subjects, we identified 64 statistically significant (q < 0.2) associations between specific HLA alleles and sequence polymorphisms in alternate reading frames of gag, pol, and nef that did not affect the regular frame protein sequence. Peptides spanning the top 20 HLA-associated imprints were used to test for ex vivo immune responses in 85 HIV-infected subjects and showed responses to 10 of these ARF peptides. The most frequent response recognized an HLA-A*03–restricted +2 frame–encoded epitope containing a unique A*03-associated polymorphism at position 6. Epitope-specific CTLs efficiently inhibited viral replication in vitro when viruses containing the wild-type sequence but not the observed polymorphism were tested. Mutating alternative internal start codons abrogated the CTL-mediated inhibition of viral replication. These data indicate that responses to ARF-encoded HIV epitopes are induced during natural infection, can contribute to viral control in vivo, and drive viral evolution on a population level