8 research outputs found
TCF-1, a T cell-specific transcription factor of the HMG box family, interacts with sequence motifs in the TCR beta and TCR delta enhancers
Design of a flood-retaining hydraulic structure at Phú Dinh
Ho Chi Minh City is flooded on a regular basis due to the lack of flood protection. Plans have been made to protect the city from flooding in the future and therefore a barrier is built at Phu Dinh. This barrier needs to fulfil three requirements. Firstly it should protect HCMC against a flood, as well resulting from tidal waves as from peak rains. Secondly during the dry season it should keep the water level above a minimum. Thirdly, while performing the first two requirements, navigation should be hindered barely. In order to find the ideal design first 3 variants were selected from 17 options with a MCA. Two of these variants were merged because of additional research. Variant A, two locks and a culvert dam, and variant B, a lock with a tidal barrier, were made into a preliminary design. These designs were compared with a new MCA and variant A was chosen as the best design. Variant A consists of a big and a small lock in order to keep the navigation possible during flood protection. When possible the big lock can be opened for free navigation due to its lift gates. The small lock will be built with double mitre gates. Between the locks a dam with culverts is built to close of the river and provide the needed conveyance area for the outflow of rain water. This design meets the requirements stated about flood protection, outflow regulation and navigation. The risks during operation are low because of the double set of doors in both locks. Because there are two locks the chances are low that the navigation will ever be totally obstructed. The estimated costs of this variant are VND 1150 billion (€ 46 million). It is recommended to look at improving the barrier by building a bridge over it. Surrounding the barrier there are no embankments present, therefore in order for the barrier to function these have to be built. Further the application of pumps in the culvert can lower the risks of a flooding due to rain, when investigating this it is important to do research on the catchment and conveyance area in the city the barrier has to deal with. During the investigation it was hard to make a good estimation about the importance of stakeholders and MCA criteria. Therefore more experience with the local environment could improve the design.Civil Engineering and GeosciencesHydraulic EngineeringMulti Disciplinary ProjectMDP21
A bone marrow-derived stroma cell line, ST2, can support the differentiation of fetal thymocytes from the CD4−CD8−double negative to the CD4+CD8+ double positive differentiation stage in vitro
T-cell precursors differentiate into mature T cells predominantly in the thymus. However, it has also been reported that T-cell precursors mature in extrathymic organs such as the liver, bone marrow, or intestines. In order to investigate the nature of the extrathymic microenvironment that supports T-cell maturation, we examined the effect of a bone marrow-derived stroma cell line, ST2, on T-cell precursors by using a reaggregate thymic organ culture (RTOC) system. We found that ST2 cells supported the differentiation of fetal thymocytes at day 14·5 of gestation from a CD4− CD8− double negative (DN) to a CD4+ CD8+ double positive (DP) differentiation stage in a manner similar to that observed in thymus. Anti-interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R) and anti-c-kit antibodies blocked the growth of thymocytes in RTOC with ST2 cells, but did not inhibit the generation of DP thymocytes. These data indicate that a bone marrow-derived stroma cell, ST2, which supports B-cell differentiation, is also able to support T-cell development and may constitute one of the microenvironmental components for extrathymic T-cell development