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Positive selection determines T cell receptor V beta 14 gene usage by CD8+ T cells.
We report here a mAb, 14-2, reactive with TCRs that include V beta 14. The frequency of V beta 14+ T cells varies with CD4 and CD8 subset and is controlled by the H-2 genes. Thus CD8+ T cells from H-2b mice include approximately 2.3% V beta 14+ T cells while CD8+ T cells from mice expressing K kappa include greater than 8% V beta 14+ T cells. In all strains examined, 7-8% of CD4+ T cells express V beta 14. The frequent usage of V beta 14 in CD8+ T cells of K kappa-expressing mice is a result of preferential positive selection of V beta 14+ CD8+ T cells as demonstrated by analysis of radiation chimeras. These studies demonstrate that H-2-dependent positive selection occurs in unmanipulated mice. Furthermore, the results imply that positive selection, and possibly H-2 restriction, can be strongly influenced by a V beta domain, with some independence from the beta-junctional sequence and alpha chain
Multi-wavelength variability properties of Fermi blazar S5 0716+714
S5 0716+714 is a typical BL Lacertae object. In this paper we present the
analysis and results of long term simultaneous observations in the radio,
near-infrared, optical, X-ray and -ray bands, together with our own
photometric observations for this source. The light curves show that the
variability amplitudes in -ray and optical bands are larger than those
in the hard X-ray and radio bands and that the spectral energy distribution
(SED) peaks move to shorter wavelengths when the source becomes brighter, which
are similar to other blazars, i.e., more variable at wavelengths shorter than
the SED peak frequencies. Analysis shows that the characteristic variability
timescales in the 14.5 GHz, the optical, the X-ray, and the -ray bands
are comparable to each other. The variations of the hard X-ray and 14.5 GHz
emissions are correlated with zero-lag, so are the V band and -ray
variations, which are consistent with the leptonic models. Coincidences of
-ray and optical flares with a dramatic change of the optical
polarization are detected. Hadronic models do not have the same nature
explanation for these observations as the leptonic models. A strong optical
flare correlating a -ray flare whose peak flux is lower than the
average flux is detected. Leptonic model can explain this variability
phenomenon through simultaneous SED modeling. Different leptonic models are
distinguished by average SED modeling. The synchrotron plus synchrotron
self-Compton (SSC) model is ruled out due to the extreme input parameters.
Scattering of external seed photons, such as the hot dust or broad line region
emission, and the SSC process are probably both needed to explain the
-ray emission of S5 0716+714.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, to be appeared in Ap
Effects of oscillation amplitude on motion-induced forces for 5:1 rectangular cylinders
While the 5:1 rectangular cylinder is a benchmark section, studied extensively, there are limited experimental studies commenting on any amplitude-dependence of its motion-induced forces. To this goal, such a cylinder is tested in wind tunnel through a forced vibration protocol for extracting distributed simultaneous pressure measurements under smooth flow conditions and for different heaving, pitching and coupled motion amplitudes. Ordinary flutter derivatives are extracted, and discrepancies due to oscillation amplitude are scrutinized. Spectral analysis is performed for the developing motion-induced forces, and it is found that torsional amplitudes above a threshold would increase higher harmonic frequency content. The phenomenon was also confirmed by means of Probability Density Functions and (PDFs) the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) of the unsteady wind force. In order to understand the link between the observed amplitude dependence and the flow field variation, the movement of the reattachment point on the cylinder surface is investigated by interpreting statistics of the recorded pressure measurements. The response in terms of instantaneous angle of attack is proven to be incompatible with respect to observations, since equal amplitudes of this variable result to different motion-induced forces
Renormalization Group Approach to Field Theory at Finite Temperature
Scalar field theory at finite temperature is investigated via an improved
renormalization group prescription which provides an effective resummation over
all possible non-overlapping higher loop graphs. Explicit analyses for the
lambda phi^4 theory are performed in d=4 Euclidean space for both low and high
temperature limits. We generate a set of coupled equations for the mass
parameter and the coupling constant from the renormalization group flow
equation. Dimensional reduction and symmetry restoration are also explored with
our improved approach.Comment: 29 pages, can include figures in the body of the text using epsf.st
Bromelain and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Diabetes: An Exploratory Randomized, Placebo Controlled, Double Blind Clinical Trial
Objective: The objective of this trial was to assess whether the dietary supplement (bromelain) had the potential to reduce plasma fibrinogen and other Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk factors in patients with diabetes. Methods: This randomized placebo controlled, double blind, parallel design, efficacy study was carried out in China and investigated the effect of 12 weeks of bromelain (1.05g/day) on plasma fibrinogen . This randomized controlled trial (RCT) recruited 68 Chinese diabetic patients (32 males and 36 females; Han origin, mean age of 61.26 years (Standard Deviation, 12.62 years)) with at least one CVD risk factor. Patients were randomized into either bromelain or placebo group. While bromelain group received bromelain capsule, the placebo group received placebo capsule which consisted inert ingredient and has no treatment effect. Patients and researcher were blinded and did not know whether they received bromelain or placebo capsules. Plasma fibrinogen, CVD risk factors and anthropometric indicators were determined at baseline and at 12 weeks. Results: The change in the fibrinogen level in the placebo group at the end of the study showed a mean reduction of 0.36g/L (Standard Deviation (SD) 0.96g/L) compared with the mean reduction of 0.13g/L (SD 0.86g/L) for the bromelain group. However, there was no significant difference in the mean change in fibrinogen between the placebo and bromelain groups (mean difference=0.23g/L (SD 0.22g/L), p=0.291). Similarly, the difference in mean change in other CVD risk factors (blood lipids, blood pressure), blood glucose, C - reactive protein (CRP) and anthropometric measures between the bromelain and placebo groups was also not statistically significant. Conclusions: This RCT failed to show a beneficial effect in reducing fibrinogen or influencing other selected CVD risk factors but suggests other avenues for subsEquent research on bromelain
Studies of acid deposition and its effects in two small catchments in Hunan, China
International audienceAcid deposition and its effects were studied by analysing the chemistry in precipitation, stream water, soil water and soils in two catchments in Hunan. One site, Linkesuo (denoted LKS), is on the outskirts of Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, the other (Bailutang, denoted BLT) on the outskirts of Chenzhou in southern Hunan. Volume-weighted average pH values and sulphate concentrations in wet deposition were 4.58 (BLT) and 4.90 (LKS) and 174 ?molc L-1 and 152 ?molc L-1, respectively. Wet deposition of sulphate has been estimated as 4.3 gS m-2yr-1 and 3.4 gS m-2yr-1 at BLT and LKS, respectively. Estimates of the corresponding total depositions (dry + wet) are 6.1 gS m-2yr-1 and 5.3 gS m-2yr-1. In precipitation and throughfall, sulphate was the major anion and calcium the major cation. In stream and soil water, nitrate was slightly higher than sulphate on an equivalent basis and magnesium (Mg) not much lower than calcium (Ca). Important soil properties, such as soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM) content, exchangeable acidic cations, exchangeable base cations, effective cation exchange capacity (CECe), base saturation (BS), and aluminium (Al) and iron (Fe) pools, were determined for five forest soil profiles (consisting of four horizons) in each of the two catchments. The soils in BLT are generally more acid, have lower BS and higher Al and Fe pools than the LKS soils. The Al- and Fe-pools were generally higher in the topsoils (i.e. the O and A horizons) than in deeper soils (i.e. E and B horizons) especially at the most acidic site (BLT). There are significant correlations between Fe-pools and the corresponding Al-pools in both catchments except between the amorphous Feox and Alox. Considering the long-term high deposition of sulphate, there is a risk of future ecological damage due to acidification, especially in the BLT catchment, although vegetation damage has yet to be observed in the catchments. This condition appears to be representative of a large part of Hunan. Keyword: acid deposition, soil acidification, catchment, Al-pools, Fe-pools, Hunan</p
Formal Semantic Annotations for Models Interoperability in a PLM environment
Nowadays, the need for system interoperability in or across enterprises has
become more and more ubiquitous. Lots of research works have been carried out
in the information exchange, transformation, discovery and reuse. One of the
main challenges in these researches is to overcome the semantic heterogeneity
between enterprise applications along the lifecycle of a product. As a possible
solution to assist the semantic interoperability, semantic annotation has
gained more and more attentions and is widely used in different domains. In
this paper, based on the investigation of the context and the related works, we
identify some existing drawbacks and propose a formal semantic annotation
approach to support the semantics enrichment of models in a PLM environment
Nano-twining and deformation-induced martensitic transformation in a duplex stainless steel 2205 fabricated by laser powder bed fusion
Duplex stainless steels (DSSs) possess desirable combinations of mechanical properties and excellent corrosion resistance due to their composition and equilibrium microstructure of roughly equivalent fractions of ferrite and austenite. They are used in harsh environments such as marine infrastructures, oil & gas, and paper & pulp industries. Components with complex geometries are often required for these applications. Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) can be harnessed to fabricate components with greatest complexity. However, AM fabrication is well-known to promote non-equilibrium microstructures with high dislocation densities and Cr2N precipitates, resulting in inferior ductility. This is generally regarded as a challenge, however, short heat treatments of such as-built microstructures have been shown to attain refined duplex equilibrium microstructures. Recently, annealed LPBF DSS 2205 has been reported to possess strength higher than wrought counterparts and ductility properties better than the as-built state. However, the microstructural phenomena and deformation mechanisms behind these attractive properties remain poorly understood. Through multi-scale microstructural characterization, we show that the improved strength results not only from the hard ferrite phase, but also fine austenite grain size and nanoscale oxide dispersion strengthening. The enhanced ductility may be attributed to a combination of deformation mechanisms including dislocation slip, stacking fault formation, deformation twinning, and a deformation-induced martensitic transformation. We discuss how the level of microstructural complexity and solid-state phase transformations during LPBF and annealing can unlock multiple strengthening mechanisms during tensile deformation. Such fundamental understanding is crucial for designing AM parts with reproducible and optimised mechanical properties
QCDOC: A 10-teraflops scale computer for lattice QCD
The architecture of a new class of computers, optimized for lattice QCD
calculations, is described. An individual node is based on a single integrated
circuit containing a PowerPC 32-bit integer processor with a 1 Gflops 64-bit
IEEE floating point unit, 4 Mbyte of memory, 8 Gbit/sec nearest-neighbor
communications and additional control and diagnostic circuitry. The machine's
name, QCDOC, derives from ``QCD On a Chip''.Comment: Lattice 2000 (machines) 8 pages, 4 figure
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