1,092 research outputs found
Self-similar structure and experimental signatures of suprathermal ion distribution in inertial confinement fusion implosions
The distribution function of suprathermal ions is found to be self-similar
under conditions relevant to inertial confinement fusion hot-spots. By
utilizing this feature, interference between the hydro-instabilities and
kinetic effects is for the first time assessed quantitatively to find that the
instabilities substantially aggravate the fusion reactivity reduction. The ion
tail depletion is also shown to lower the experimentally inferred ion
temperature, a novel kinetic effect that may explain the discrepancy between
the exploding pusher experiments and rad-hydro simulations and contribute to
the observation that temperature inferred from DD reaction products is lower
than from DT at National Ignition Facility.Comment: Revised version accepted for publication in PRL. "Copyright (2015) by
the American Physical Society.
Vitamin D and Its Effects on Glucose Homeostasis, Cardiovascular Function and Immune Function
In recent years there has been increasing interest in the non-skeletal effects of vitamin D. It has been suggested that vitamin D deficiency may influence the development of diabetes, cardiovascular dysfunction and autoimmune diseases. This review focuses on the current knowledge of the effects of vitamin D and its deficiency on cardiovascular function, glucose homeostasis and immune function, with a particular focus on children. Although, there is good evidence to show that there is an association between vitamin D deficiency and an abnormality of the above systems, there is little evidence to show that vitamin D supplementation leads to an improvement in function, especially in childhood
Involvement of Mhc Loci in immune responses that are not Ir-gene-controlled
Twenty-nine randomly chosen, soluble antigens, many of them highly complex, were used to immunize mice of two strains, C3H and B10.RIII. Lymphnode cells from the immunized mice were restimulated in vitro with the priming antigens and the proliferative response of the cells was determined. Both strains were responders to 28 of 29 antigens. Eight antigens were then used to immunize 11 congenic strains carrying different H-2 haplotypes, and the T-cell proliferative responses of these strains were determined. Again, all the strains responded to seven of the eight antigens. These experiments were then repeated, but this time -antibodies specific for the A (AA) or E (EE) molecules were added to the culture to block the in vitro responsiveness. In all but one of the responses, inhibition with both A-specific and E-specific antibodies was observed. The response to one antigen (Blastoinyces) was exceptional in that some strains were nonresponders to this antigen. Furthermore, the response in the responder strains was blocked with A-specific, but not with E-specific, antibodies. The study demonstrates that responses to antigens not controlled by Irr genes nevertheless require participation of class II Mhc molecules. In contrast to Ir gene-controlled responses involving either the A- or the E-molecule controlling loci (but never both), the responses not Ir-controlled involve participation of both A- and E-controlling loci. The lack of Ir-gene control is probably the result of complexity of the responses to multiple determinants. There is thus no principal difference between responses controlled and those not controlled by Ir genes: both types involve the recognition of the antigen, in the context of Mhc molecules
Autoinducer 2 signalling via the phosphotransferase FruA drives galactose utilization by Streptococcus pneumoniae resulting in hypervirulence
Communication between bacterial cells is crucial for the coordination of
diverse cellular processes that facilitate environmental adaptation and, in the case
of pathogenic species, virulence. This is achieved by the secretion and detection of
small signaling molecules called autoinducers, a process termed quorum sensing. To
date, the only signaling molecule recognized by both Gram-positive and Gramnegative
bacteria is autoinducer 2 (AI-2), synthesized by the metabolic enzyme LuxS
(S-ribosylhomocysteine lyase) as a by-product of the activated methyl cycle. Homologues
of LuxS are ubiquitous in bacteria, suggesting a key role in interspecies, as
well as intraspecies, communication. Gram-negative bacteria sense and respond to
AI-2 via the Lsr ABC transporter system or by the LuxP/LuxQ phosphorelay system.
However, homologues of these systems are absent from Gram-positive bacteria and
the AI-2 receptor is unknown. Here we show that in the major human pathogen
Streptococcus pneumoniae, sensing of exogenous AI-2 is dependent on FruA, a
fructose-specific phosphoenolpyruvate-phosphotransferase system that is highly conserved
in Gram-positive pathogens. Importantly, AI-2 signaling via FruA enables the
bacterium to utilize galactose as a carbon source and upregulates the Leloir pathway,
thereby leading to increased production of capsular polysaccharide and a hypervirulent
phenotype
Microstructured optical fiber-based biosensors: reversible and nanoliter-scale measurement of zinc ions
Published: May 6, 2016Sensing platforms that allow rapid and efficient detection of metal ions would have applications in disease diagnosis and study, as well as environmental sensing. Here, we report the first microstructured optical fiber-based biosensor for the reversible and nanoliter-scale measurement of metal ions. Specifically, a photoswitchable spiropyran Zn(2+) sensor is incorporated within the microenvironment of a liposome attached to microstructured optical fibers (exposed-core and suspended-core microstructured optical fibers). Both fiber-based platforms retains high selectivity of ion binding associated with a small molecule sensor, while also allowing nanoliter volume sampling and on/off switching. We have demonstrated that multiple measurements can be made on a single sample without the need to change the sensor. The ability of the new sensing platform to sense Zn(2+) in pleural lavage and nasopharynx of mice was compared to that of established ion sensing methodologies such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and a commercially available fluorophore (Fluozin-3), where the optical-fiber-based sensor provides a significant advantage in that it allows the use of nanoliter (nL) sampling when compared to ICP-MS (mL) and FluoZin-3 (μL). This work paves the way to a generic approach for developing surface-based ion sensors using a range of sensor molecules, which can be attached to a surface without the need for its chemical modification and presents an opportunity for the development of new and highly specific ion sensors for real time sensing applications.Sabrina Heng, Christopher A. McDevitt, Roman Kostecki, Jacqueline R. Morey, Bart A. Eijkelkamp, Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Tanya M. Monro, and Andrew D. Abel
GENETIC CONTROL OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE : MAPPING OF THEIR-1 LOCUS
Eleven strains of mice bearing recombinant H-2 chromosomes derived from known crossover events between known H-2 types were immunized with a series of branched, multichain, synthetic polypeptide antigens [(T,G)-A--L, (H,G)-A--L, and (Phe,G)-A--L]. Results with nine of the eleven H-2 recombinants indicated that the gene(s) controlling immune response to these synthetic polypeptides (Ir-1) is on the centromeric or H-2K part of the recombinant H-2 chromosome. Results with two of the eleven recombinant H-2 chromosomes indicated that Ir-1 was on the telomeric or H-2D part of the recombinant H-2 chromosome. Both of these recombinants were derived from crossovers between the H-2K locus and the Ss-Slp locus near the center of the H-2 region. One of these recombinants, H-2y, was derived from a known single crossover event. These results indicate that Ir-1 lies near the center of the H-2 region between the H-2K locus and the Ss-Slp locus. The results of a four-point linkage test were consistent with these results. In 484 offspring of a cross designed to detect recombinants between H-2 and Ir-1, only two putative recombinants were detected. Both of these recombinants were confirmed by progeny testing. Extensive analysis of one of them has shown that the crossover event occurred within the H-2 region. (Testing of the second recombinant is currently under way.) Thus, in the linkage test, recombinants between H-2 and Ir-1 are in fact intra-H-2 crossovers. These results permit assignment of Ir-1 to a position between the H-2K locus and the Ss-Slp locus
Genetic nomenclature for the H-2 complex of the mouse
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46730/1/251_2005_Article_BF01564058.pd
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