Effect of Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interaction on magnetic vortex

The effect of the Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interaction on the vortex in magnetic microdisk was investigated by micro magnetic simulation based on the Landau Lifshitz Gilbert equation. Our results show that the DM interaction modifies the size of the vortex core, and also induces an out of plane magnetization component at the edge and inside the disk. The DM interaction can destabilizes one vortex handedness, generate a bias field to the vortex core and couple the vortex polarity and chirality. This DM-interaction-induced coupling can therefore provide a new way to control vortex polarity and chirality

Design and validation of a meter band rate in OpenFlow and OpenDaylight for optimizing QoS

Technological developments in the Internet and communications have created a vastly complex and dynamic context with diverse heterogeneous networks and fast growth of mobile devices and multimedia. As the Internet becomes the primary mode of communication for many organisations there is requirement to enhance quality of service (QoS) from heterogeneous systems and networks. Traditional networks such as TETRA have become increasingly incapable of addressing the demand for media rich, bandwidth intensive traffic flows and applications. Mission-critical multimedia over new generation mobile networks face QoS constraints. This research explores a novel solution for quality of service performance for streaming mission-critical video data in OpenFlow SDN networks. A Meter Band Rate Evaluation (MBE) mechanism is advanced that improves the native QoS capability of OpenFlow and OpenDaylight. The MBE is a physical component added to the OpenFlow meter table to evaluate and dynamically adjust traffic rates and allows the traffic volume to be specified relative to other traffic in the network. Its design and development are presented and the mechanism is verified through a simulated experiment in an SDN testbed. The results identified that QoS performance experienced a significant percentage increase when the MBE was active. These findings contribute a novel Meter Band Rate Evaluation mechanism that extends the native capability of OpenFlow and OpenDaylight to enhance the efficiency of QoS provision

Recombination Activating Gene-2 Regulates CpG-Mediated Interferon-α Production in Mouse Bone Marrow-Derived Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells

Using mice that lack recombination activating gene-2 (Rag2), we have found that bone marrow-derived plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) as main producers of interferon-α (IFNα) require Rag2 for normal development. This is a novel function for Rag2, whose classical role is to initiate B and T cell development. Here we showed that a population of common progenitor cells in the mouse bone marrow possessed the potential to become either B cells or pDCs upon appropriate stimulations, and the lack of Rag2 hindered the development of both types of progeny cells. A closer look at pDCs revealed that Rag2^(−/−) pDCs expressed a high level of Ly6C and were defective at producing IFNα in response to CpG, a ligand for toll-like receptor 9. This phenotype was not shared by Rag1^(−/−) pDCs. The induction of CCR7, CD40 and CD86 with CpG, however, was normal in Rag2^(−/−) pDCs. In addition, Rag2^(−/−) pDCs retained the function to promote antibody class switching and plasma cell formation through producing IL-6. Further analysis showed that interferon regulatory factor-8, a transcription factor important for both IFNα induction and pDC development, was dysregulated in pDCs lacking Rag2. These results indicate that the generation of interferon response in pDCs requires Rag2 and suggest the lymphoid origin of bone marrow-derived pDCs

Taste and Visual Influences on Hispanic Consumers' Preferences and Willingness-to-Pay for Pasture-Fed Beef

Experimental Economics methods are used to determine Hispanic consumers’ sensory acceptance of pasture-fed beef and evaluate visual and taste influences on their overall preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP). Two hundred and thirty-one Hispanic consumers in four experimental sites in Virginia participated in a laboratory experimental procedure where they visually examined and tasted pasture-fed and conventionally produced grain-fed beef, and then participated in a non-hypothetical Multiple Price Lists (MPL) experiment to determine their WTP. Hispanic consumers perceived significant differences between pasture-fed and grain-fed beef’s appearance and taste. Visual and taste acceptances are closely correlated to and significantly influence overall preferences. More than fifty percent of Hispanic consumers prefer pasture-fed beef and the majority of them consistently are willing to pay a price premium. Approximately, half consumers who generally prefer pasture-fed beef consistently consider the appearance and taste of pasture-fed beef more favorable but another half of them indicated discrepant visual and taste acceptances. Nevertheless, this inconsistency doesn’t lead to a lower WTP for pasture-fed beef.Pasture-Fed Beef, Experimental Economics, Multiple Price Lists, Preference, Willingness-to-pay, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,