525 research outputs found
Making On-Demand Routing Efficient with Route-Request Aggregation
In theory, on-demand routing is very attractive for mobile ad hoc networks
(MANET), because it induces signaling only for those destinations for which
there is data traffic. However, in practice, the signaling overhead of existing
on-demand routing protocols becomes excessive as the rate of topology changes
increases due to mobility or other causes. We introduce the first on-demand
routing approach that eliminates the main limitation of on-demand routing by
aggregating route requests (RREQ) for the same destinations. The approach can
be applied to any existing on-demand routing protocol, and we introduce the
Ad-hoc Demand-Aggregated Routing with Adaptation (ADARA) as an example of how
RREQ aggregation can be used. ADARA is compared to AODV and OLSR using
discrete-event simulations, and the results show that aggregating RREQs can
make on-demand routing more efficient than existing proactive or on-demand
routing protocols
Dynamical mean-field theory of spiking neuron ensembles: response to a single spike with independent noises
Dynamics of an ensemble of -unit FitzHugh-Nagumo (FN) neurons subject to
white noises has been studied by using a semi-analytical dynamical mean-field
(DMF) theory in which the original -dimensional {\it stochastic}
differential equations are replaced by 8-dimensional {\it deterministic}
differential equations expressed in terms of moments of local and global
variables. Our DMF theory, which assumes weak noises and the Gaussian
distribution of state variables, goes beyond weak couplings among constituent
neurons. By using the expression for the firing probability due to an applied
single spike, we have discussed effects of noises, synaptic couplings and the
size of the ensemble on the spike timing precision, which is shown to be
improved by increasing the size of the neuron ensemble, even when there are no
couplings among neurons. When the coupling is introduced, neurons in ensembles
respond to an input spike with a partial synchronization. DMF theory is
extended to a large cluster which can be divided into multiple sub-clusters
according to their functions. A model calculation has shown that when the noise
intensity is moderate, the spike propagation with a fairly precise timing is
possible among noisy sub-clusters with feed-forward couplings, as in the
synfire chain. Results calculated by our DMF theory are nicely compared to
those obtained by direct simulations. A comparison of DMF theory with the
conventional moment method is also discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures; augmented the text and added Appendice
Measurement of Mass and Width of the W Boson at LEP
We report on measurements of the mass and total decay width of the W boson
with the L3 detector at LEP. W-pair events produced in
interactions between 161 GeV and 183 GeV centre-of-mass energy are selected in
a data sample corresponding to a total luminosity of 76.7 pb. Combining
all final states in W-pair production, the mass and total decay width of the W
boson are determined to be GeV and
GeV, respectively
Search for Heavy Neutral and Charged Leptons in ee Annihilation at = 183 and 189 GeV
A search for unstable neutral and charged heavy leptons as well as for stable
charged heavy leptons is performed at center-of-mass energies = 183
and 189 GeV with the L3 detector at LEP. No evidence for their existence is
found. We exclude neutral heavy leptons which couple to the electron, muon or
tau family, of the Dirac type for masses below 92.4, 93.3 and 83.3 GeV, and of
the Majorana type for masses below 81.8, 84.1 and 73.5 GeV, respectively. We
exclude unstable charged heavy leptons for masses below 93.9 GeV for a wide
range of the associated neutral heavy lepton mass. If the unstable charged
heavy lepton decays to a light neutrino, we exclude masses below 92.4 GeV. The
production of stable charged heavy leptons with mass less than 93.5 GeV is also
excluded
Measurement of an Elongation of the Pion Source in Z Decays
We measure Bose-Einstein correlations between like-sign charged pion pairs in
hadronic Z decays with the L3 detector at LEP. The analysis is performed in
three dimensions in the longitudinal center-of-mass system. The pion source is
found to be elongated along the thrust axis with a ratio of transverse to
longitudinal radius of
Induction of IgG2 and IgG4 B-cell memory following sublingual immunotherapy for ryegrass pollen allergy
Background: While treatment for atopic rhinitis is aimed mostly to relieve symptoms, only allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is targeted to modify the natural history of allergic diseases. This results in sustained clinical tolerance, even when treatment has stopped. The immunomodulatory effects of AIT are attributed mainly to increased regulatory T-cell function and increased allergen-specific IgG4, yet little is known about the effect on the memory B-cell compartment. Objective: We aimed to examine the effects of AIT on the IgE- and IgG subclass-expressing memory B cells. Methods: We recruited 29 patients with atopic seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis and performed a longitudinal analysis of the peripheral immune compartment before, during, and after sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) for allergy to temperate grass pollen, predominantly to ryegrass pollen (RGP; Lolium perenne). Using flow cytometry on peripheral blood mononuclear cells and serum immunoassays, we analyzed the effects of a 4Â months preseasonal treatment regimen comprising two or three courses in consecutive years on circulating IgE+ and IgG+ memory B cells and allergen-specific Ig levels. Results: SLIT increased RGP-specific serum IgG2 and IgG4, as well as the frequencies of IgG2 + and IgG4 + memory B cells, whereas no effect was observed on the IgE+ memory B-cell compartment. Furthermore, SLIT enhanced proportions of regulatory T cells specific to RGP. These changes were associated with clinical improvement. Conclusion: Our data provide evidence for immunological effects of SLIT on B-cell memory. Skewing responses toward IgG2 and IgG4 subclasses might be a mechanism to suppress IgE-mediated allergic responses
Quantification of T-cell and B-cell replication history in aging, immunodeficiency, and newborn screening
Quantification of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) has impacted on human T-cell research, but interpretations on T-cell replication have been limited due to the lack of a genomic coding joint. We here overcome this limitation with multiplex TRG rearrangement quantification (detecting âŒ0.98 alleles per TCRαÎČ+ T cell) and the HSB-2 cell line with a retrovirally introduced TREC construct. We uncovered 10 cell divisions in effector memory T-cell subsets. Furthermore, we show that TREC dilution with age in healthy adults results mainly from increased T cell replication history. This proliferation was significantly increased in patients with predominantly antibody deficiency. Finally, Guthrie cards of neonates with Down syndrome have fewer T and B cells than controls, with similar T-cell and slightly higher B-cell replication. Thus, combined analysis of TRG coding joints and TREC signal joints can be utilized to quantify in vivo T-cell replication, and has direct applications for research into aging, immunodeficiency, and newborn screening
Early- Onset Stroke and Vasculopathy Associated with Mutations in ADA2
Adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2) is an enzyme involved in purine metabolism and a growth factor that influences the development of endothelial cells and leukocytes. This study shows that defects in ADA2 cause recurrent fevers, vascular pathologic features, and mild immunodeficiency. Patients with autoinflammatory disease sometimes present with clinical findings that encompass multiple organ systems.(1) Three unrelated children presented to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center with intermittent fevers, recurrent lacunar strokes, elevated levels of acute-phase reactants, livedoid rash, hepatosplenomegaly, and hypogammaglobulinemia. Collectively, these findings do not easily fit with any of the known inherited autoinflammatory diseases. Hereditary or acquired vascular disorders can have protean manifestations yet be caused by mutations in a single gene. Diseases such as the Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome,(2),(3) polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy,(4) sickle cell anemia,(5) livedoid vasculopathy,(6) and the small-vessel vasculitides(7),(8) are examples of systemic ...</p
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