An Eddy Current Method for Flaw Characterization from Spatially Periodic Current Sheets

Early NDE research primarily focused on the ability to develop techniques which could detect flaws in structures. Eddy currents, induced by exciting coil probes placed over a structure, were found to be a valuable tool in detecting flaws in conducting materials. In recent years, efforts have been expanded from the detection of defects to a more quantitative characterization of flaws. In metallic structures, the important flaw characteristics consist of the flaw’s depth, position, size, shape, and material properties (flaw electrical conductivity, magnetic permeability etc.). This paper continues our efforts of the past two years to recover flaw characteristics from eddy current data

T-cell subpopulations αβ and γδ in cord blood of very preterm infants : The influence of intrauterine infection

Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are creditedPreterm infants are very susceptible to infections. Immune response mechanisms in this group of patients and factors that influence cord blood mononuclear cell populations remain poorly understood and are considered insufficient. However, competent immune functions of the cord blood mononuclear cells are also described. The aim of this work was to evaluate the T-cell population (CD3+) with its subpopulations bearing T-cell receptor (TCR) αβ or TCR γδ in the cord blood of preterm infants born before 32 weeks of gestation by mothers with or without an intrauterine infection. Being a pilot study, it also aimed at feasibility check and assessment of an expected effect size. The cord blood samples of 46 infants age were subjected to direct immunofluorescent staining with monoclonal antibodies and then analyzed by flow cytometry. The percentage of CD3+ cells in neonates born by mothers with diagnosis of intrauterine infection was significantly lower than in neonates born by mothers without infection (p = 0.005; Mann-Whitney U test). The number of cells did not differ between groups. Infection present in the mother did not have an influence on the TCR αβ or TCR γδ subpopulations. Our study contributes to a better understanding of preterm infants' immune mechanisms, and sets the stage for further investigations.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Effective-Range Expansion of the Neutron-Deuteron Scattering Studied by a Quark-Model Nonlocal Gaussian Potential

The S-wave effective range parameters of the neutron-deuteron (nd) scattering are derived in the Faddeev formalism, using a nonlocal Gaussian potential based on the quark-model baryon-baryon interaction fss2. The spin-doublet low-energy eigenphase shift is sufficiently attractive to reproduce predictions by the AV18 plus Urbana three-nucleon force, yielding the observed value of the doublet scattering length and the correct differential cross sections below the deuteron breakup threshold. This conclusion is consistent with the previous result for the triton binding energy, which is nearly reproduced by fss2 without reinforcing it with the three-nucleon force.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures and 6 tables, submitted to Prog. Theor. Phy

A Measurement of Rb using a Double Tagging Method

The fraction of Z to bbbar events in hadronic Z decays has been measured by the OPAL experiment using the data collected at LEP between 1992 and 1995. The Z to bbbar decays were tagged using displaced secondary vertices, and high momentum electrons and muons. Systematic uncertainties were reduced by measuring the b-tagging efficiency using a double tagging technique. Efficiency correlations between opposite hemispheres of an event are small, and are well understood through comparisons between real and simulated data samples. A value of Rb = 0.2178 +- 0.0011 +- 0.0013 was obtained, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The uncertainty on Rc, the fraction of Z to ccbar events in hadronic Z decays, is not included in the errors. The dependence on Rc is Delta(Rb)/Rb = -0.056*Delta(Rc)/Rc where Delta(Rc) is the deviation of Rc from the value 0.172 predicted by the Standard Model. The result for Rb agrees with the value of 0.2155 +- 0.0003 predicted by the Standard Model.Comment: 42 pages, LaTeX, 14 eps figures included, submitted to European Physical Journal

Measurement of the B+ and B-0 lifetimes and search for CP(T) violation using reconstructed secondary vertices

The lifetimes of the B+ and B-0 mesons, and their ratio, have been measured in the OPAL experiment using 2.4 million hadronic Z(0) decays recorded at LEP. Z(0) --> b (b) over bar decays were tagged using displaced secondary vertices and high momentum electrons and muons. The lifetimes were then measured using well-reconstructed charged and neutral secondary vertices selected in this tagged data sample. The results aretau(B+) = 1.643 +/- 0.037 +/- 0.025 pstau(Bo) = 1.523 +/- 0.057 +/- 0.053 pstau(B+)/tau(Bo) = 1.079 +/- 0.064 +/- 0.041,where in each case the first error is statistical and the second systematic.A larger data sample of 3.1 million hadronic Z(o) decays has been used to search for CP and CPT violating effects by comparison of inclusive b and (b) over bar hadron decays, No evidence fur such effects is seen. The CP violation parameter Re(epsilon(B)) is measured to be Re(epsilon(B)) = 0.001 +/- 0.014 +/- 0.003and the fractional difference between b and (b) over bar hadron lifetimes is measured to(Delta tau/tau)(b) = tau(b hadron) - tau((b) over bar hadron)/tau(average) = -0.001 +/- 0.012 +/- 0.008

Inflammatory response gene polymorphisms and their relationship with colorectal cancer risk

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Backgroud</p> <p>Patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and it is estimated that one in six persons diagnosed with IBD will develop CRC. This fact suggests that genetic variations in inflammatory response genes may act as CRC disease risk modifiers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to test this hypothesis we investigated a series of polymorphisms in 6 genes (NOD2, DLG5, OCTN1, OCTN2, IL4, TNFα) associated with the inflammatory response on a group of 607 consecutive newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients and compared the results to controls (350 consecutive newborns and 607 age, sex and geographically matched controls).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the six genes only one polymorphism in TNFα(-1031T/T) showed any tendency to be associated with disease risk (64.9% for controls and 71.4% for CRC) which we further characterized on a larger cohort of CRC patients and found a more profound relationship between the TNFα -1031T/T genotype and disease (64.5% for controls vs 74.7% for CRC cases above 70 yrs). Then, we investigated this result and identified a suggestive tendency, linking the TNFα -1031T/T genotype and a previously identified change in the CARD15/NOD2 gene (OR = 1.87; p = 0,02 for CRC cases above 60 yrs).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The association of polymorphisms in genes involved in the inflammatory response and CRC onset suggest that there are genetic changes capable of influencing disease risk in older persons.</p

The extract of syngeneic keratinocytes enhances IgE production from BALB/c mouse splenic lymphocytes in vitro.

Background: The increase of serum IgE levels is closely associated with atopic dermatitis. We have previously revealed that cellular extract of PAM212 cells (PAM-extract), BALB/c mouse keratinocyte cell line, induced a remarkable increase of serum IgE levels, in vivo, when subcutaneously injected into BALB/c mice. However, precise mechanism of IgE-increasing activity was unclear. Objective: To elucidate the mechanism of IgE-increase in sera of BALB/c mice induced by PAM-extract, we explored the direct influence of PAM-extract on immunoglobulin production and class-switching in the culture of splenic lymphocytes and purified B-cells, in vitro. Methods: Splenic lymphocytes or purified B-cells obtained from BALB/c mice were cultured with various combinations of IL-4, anti-CD40 antibody, and PAM-extract for seven days. IgE and IgG concentrations of culture supernatants were measured by ELISA. Epsilon germ-line transcriptions were assessed by RT-PCR from the cultured cells. Results: IgE and IgG concentrations in culture supernatant of splenic lymphocytes were increased by an addition of PAM-extract in the presence of both IL-4 and anti-CD40 antibody. Epsilon germ-line transcript was also induced in parallel to the increase of IgE production. Similar results were obtained when purified B-cells were employed in stead of whole splenic lymphocytes. Conclusion: The cellular extract of keratinocyte promotes immunoglobulin class-switching to IgE and IgE production from mouse splenic B-cells in an IL-4- and CD40-stimuli-dependent manner. Such enhancement may account for the increase of serum IgE in patients with dermatitis in association with a Th2 microenvironment