Inhomogeneous Magnetoelectric Effect on Defect in Multiferroic Material: Symmetry Prediction

Inhomogeneous magnetoelectric effect in magnetization distribution heterogeneities (0-degree domain walls) appeared on crystal lattice defect of the multiferroic material has been investigated. Magnetic symmetry based predictions of kind of electrical polarization distribution in their volumes were used. It was found that magnetization distribution heterogeneity with any symmetry produces electrical polarization. Results were systemized in scope of micromagnetic structure chirality. It was shown that all 0-degree domain walls with time-noninvariant chirality have identical type of spatial distribution of the magnetization and polarization.Comment: submitted to IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineerin

Can statin preventative treatment inform geroscience-guided therapeutics?

: Potential senotherapeutic effect of statins may lead to prevention and reduction of frailty

VACUTAINER(® )CPT™ and Ficoll density gradient separation perform equivalently in maintaining the quality and function of PBMC from HIV seropositive blood samples

BACKGROUND: For immune monitoring studies during HIV vaccine clinical trials, whole blood specimens from HIV seropositive (HIV(+)) patients may be collected at multiple sites and sent to a central location for peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) isolation, cryopreservation and functional evaluation. In this study we show a comparison of two PBMC preparation options, Ficoll density gradient separation (Ficoll) and Cell Preparation Tubes (CPT) using shipped whole blood specimens from 19 HIV(+ )patients (CD4 > 350, viral load < 50). The pre- and post- cryopreservation performance of samples collected by these two methods were compared by assessment of antigen-specific IFNγ expression in CD8(+ )and CD8(- )T cells, cellular viability, and cellular recovery. RESULTS: The results indicate that cryopreserved PBMC samples tested for CMV- and HIV- specific interferon-gamma (IFNγ) expression performed equivalent to the respective fresh PBMC processed under both collection conditions. Compared to fresh PBMC, the viability was significantly lower for cryopreserved PBMC derived using Ficoll, although it was never less than 90%. There were no significant differences in the IFNγ response, viability, or recovery between cryopreserved PBMC derived by Ficoll and by CPT. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that CPT is an efficient system for the collection and cryopreservation of functionally active HIV(+ )PBMC, as well as a viable alternative to Ficoll gradient separation

Laser in the axial electric field as a tool to search for P-, T- invariance violation

We consider rotation of polarization plane of the laser light when a gas laser is placed in a longitudinal electric field (10~kV/cm). It is shown that residual anisotropy of the laser cavity 10^{-6} and the sensitivity to the angle of polarization plane rotation about 10^{-11} -10^{-12} rad allows one to measure an electron EDM with the sensitivity about 10^{-30} e cm.Comment: 12 page

An inhomogeneous toy-model of the quantum gravity with explicitly evolvable observables

An inhomogeneous (1+1)-dimensional model of the quantum gravity is considered. It is found, that this model corresponds to a string propagating against some curved background space. The quantization scheme including the Wheeler-DeWitt equation and the "particle on a sphere" type of the gauge condition is suggested. In the quantization scheme considered, the "problem of time" is solved by building of the quasi-Heisenberg operators acting in a space of solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation and the normalization of the wave function corresponds to the Klein-Gordon type. To analyze the physical consequences of the scheme, a (1+1)-dimensional background space is considered for which a classical solution is found and quantized. The obtained estimations show the way to solution of the cosmological constant problem, which consists in compensation of the zero-point oscillations of the matter fields by the quantum oscillations of the scale factor. Along with such a compensation, a slow global evolution of a background corresponding to an universe expansion exists.Comment: 18 page

Microscopic Models for Chemical Thermodynamics

We introduce an infinite particle system dynamics, which includes stochastic chemical kinetics models, the classical Kac model and free space movement. We study energy redistribution between two energy types (kinetic and chemical) in different time scales, similar to energy redistribution in the living cell. One example is considered in great detail, where the model provides main formulas of chemical thermodynamics

An introduction to Elinor Glyn : her life and legacy

This special issue of Women: A Cultural Review re-evaluates an author who was once a household name, beloved by readers of romance, and whose films were distributed widely in Europe and the Americas. Elinor Glyn (1864–1943) was a British author of romantic fiction who went to Hollywood and became famous for her movies. She was a celebrity figure of the 1920s, and wrote constantly in Hearst's press. She wrote racy stories which were turned into films—most famously, Three Weeks (1924) and It (1927). These were viewed by the judiciary as scandalous, but by others—Hollywood and the Spanish Catholic Church—as acceptably conservative. Glyn has become a peripheral figure in histories of this period, marginalized in accounts of the youth-centred ‘flapper era’. Decades on, the idea of the ‘It Girl’ continues to have great pertinence in the post-feminist discourses of the twenty-first century. The 1910s and 1920s saw the development of intermodal networks between print, sound and screen cultures. This introduction to Glyn's life and legacy reviews the cross-disciplinary debate sparked by renewed interest in Glyn by film scholars and literary and feminist historians, and offers a range of views of Glyn's cultural and historical significance and areas for future research

Safety and immunogenicity of H1/IC31®, an adjuvanted TB subunit vaccine, in HIV-infected adults with CD4+ lymphocyte counts greater than 350 cells/mm3: a phase II, multi-centre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Novel tuberculosis vaccines should be safe, immunogenic, and effective in various population groups, including HIV-infected individuals. In this phase II multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the safety and immunogenicity of the novel H1/IC31 vaccine, a fusion protein of Ag85B-ESAT-6 (H1) formulated with the adjuvant IC31, was evaluated in HIV-infected adults. METHODS: HIV-infected adults with CD4+ T cell counts >350/mm3 and without evidence of active tuberculosis were enrolled and followed until day 182. H1/IC31 vaccine or placebo was randomly allocated in a 5:1 ratio. The vaccine was administered intramuscularly at day 0 and 56. Safety assessment was based on medical history, clinical examinations, and blood and urine testing. Immunogenicity was determined by a short-term whole blood intracellular cytokine staining assay. RESULTS: 47 of the 48 randomised participants completed both vaccinations. In total, 459 mild or moderate and 2 severe adverse events were reported. There were three serious adverse events in two vaccinees classified as not related to the investigational product. Local injection site reactions were more common in H1/IC31 versus placebo recipients (65.0% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.015). Solicited systemic and unsolicited adverse events were similar by study arm. The baseline CD4+ T cell count and HIV viral load were similar by study arm and remained constant over time. The H1/IC31 vaccine induced a persistent Th1-immune response with predominately TNF-α and IL-2 co-expressing CD4+ T cells, as well as polyfunctional IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-2 expressing CD4+ T cells. CONCLUSION: H1/IC31 was well tolerated and safe in HIV-infected adults with a CD4+ Lymphocyte count greater than 350 cells/mm3. The vaccine did not have an effect on CD4+ T cell count or HIV-1 viral load. H1/IC31 induced a specific and durable Th1 immune response. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR) PACTR201105000289276

Biological and technical variables affecting immunoassay recovery of cytokines from human serum and simulated vaginal fluid: A multicenter study

The increase of proinflammatory cytokines in vaginal secretions may serve as a surrogate marker of unwanted inflammatory reaction to microbicide products topically applied for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-1. Interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 have been proposed as indicators of inflammation and increased risk of HIV-1 transmission; however, the lack of information regarding detection platforms optimal for vaginal fluids and interlaboratory variation limit their use for microbicide evaluation and other clinical applications. This study examines fluid matrix variants relevant to vaginal sampling techniques and proposes a model for interlaboratory comparisons across current cytokine detection technologies. IL-1β and IL-6 standards were measured by 12 laboratories in four countries, using 14 immunoassays and four detection platforms based on absorbance, chemiluminescence, electrochemiluminescence, and fluorescence. International reference preparations of cytokines with defined biological activity were spiked into (1) a defined medium simulating the composition of human vaginal fluid at pH 4.5 and 7.2, (2) physiologic salt solutions (phosphate-buffered saline and saline) commonly used for vaginal lavage sampling in clinical studies of cytokines, and (3) human blood serum. Assays were assessed for reproducibility, linearity, accuracy, and significantly detectable fold difference in cytokine level. Factors with significant impact on cytokine recovery were determined by Kruskal−Wallis analysis of variance with Dunn’s multiple comparison test and multiple regression models. All assays showed acceptable intra-assay reproducibility; however, most were associated with significant interlaboratory variation. The smallest reliably detectable cytokine differences (P < 0.05) derived from pooled interlaboratory data varied from 1.5- to 26-fold depending on assay, cytokine, and matrix type. IL-6 but not IL-1β determinations were lower in both saline and phosphate-buffered saline as compared to vaginal fluid matrix, with no significant effect of pH. The (electro)chemiluminescence-based assays were most discriminative and consistently detected <2-fold differences within each matrix type. The Luminex-based assays were less discriminative with lower reproducibility between laboratories. These results suggest the need for uniform vaginal sampling techniques and a better understanding of immunoassay platform differences and cross-validation before the biological significance of cytokine variations can be validated in clinical trials. This investigation provides the first standardized analytic approach for assessing differences in mucosal cytokine levels and may improve strategies for monitoring immune responses at the vaginal mucosal interface

Applying a User-centred Approach to Interactive Visualization Design

Analysing users in their context of work and finding out how and why they use different information resources is essential to provide interactive visualisation systems that match their goals and needs. Designers should actively involve the intended users throughout the whole process. This chapter presents a user-centered approach for the design of interactive visualisation systems. We describe three phases of the iterative visualisation design process: the early envisioning phase, the global specification hase, and the detailed specification phase. The whole design cycle is repeated until some criterion of success is reached. We discuss different techniques for the analysis of users, their tasks and domain. Subsequently, the design of prototypes and evaluation methods in visualisation practice are presented. Finally, we discuss the practical challenges in design and evaluation of collaborative visualisation environments. Our own case studies and those of others are used throughout the whole chapter to illustrate various approaches