The Dynamics of Assortative Mating in Germany

Basutoland Basuto house, 319ColorVolume 87, Page 1

HIV-infected cells are major inducers of plasmacytoid dendritic cell interferon production, maturation, and migration

AbstractPlasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC), natural type-1 interferon (IFN) producing cells, could play a role in the innate anti-HIV immune response. Previous reports indicated that PDC IFN production is induced by HIV. Our results show a more robust IFN induction when purified PDC (>95%) were exposed to HIV-infected cells. This effect was not observed with non-viable cells, DNA, and RNA extracted from infected cells, and viral proteins. The response was blocked by anti-CD4 and neutralizing anti-gp120 antibodies as well as soluble CD4. IFN induction by HIV-infected cells was also prevented by low-dose chloroquine, which inhibits endosomal acidification. PDC IFN release resulted in reduced HIV production by infected CD4+ cells, supporting an anti-HIV activity of PDC. Stimulated CD4+ cells induced PDC activation and maturation; markers for PDC migration (CCR7) were enhanced by HIV-infected CD4+ cells only. This latter finding could explain the decline in circulating PDC in HIV-infected individuals

Comparison of two models for bridge-assisted charge transfer

Based on the reduced density matrix method, we compare two different approaches to calculate the dynamics of the electron transfer in systems with donor, bridge, and acceptor. In the first approach a vibrational substructure is taken into account for each electronic state and the corresponding states are displaced along a common reaction coordinate. In the second approach it is assumed that vibrational relaxation is much faster than the electron transfer and therefore the states are modeled by electronic levels only. In both approaches the system is coupled to a bath of harmonic oscillators but the way of relaxation is quite different. The theory is applied to the electron transfer in ${\rm H_2P}-{\rm ZnP}-{\rm Q}$ with free-base porphyrin (${\rm H_2P}$) being the donor, zinc porphyrin (${\rm ZnP}$) being the bridge and quinone (${\rm Q}$) the acceptor. The parameters are chosen as similar as possible for both approaches and the quality of the agreement is discussed.Comment: 12 pages including 4 figures, 1 table, 26 references. For more info see http://eee.tu-chemnitz.de/~kili

The Size and Shape of Voids in Three-Dimensional Galaxy Surveys

The sizes and shapes of voids in a galaxy survey depend not only on the physics of structure formation, but also on the sampling density of the survey and on the algorithm used to define voids. Using an N-body simulation with a CDM power spectrum, we study the properties of voids in samples with different number densities of galaxies, both in redshift space and in real space. When voids are defined as regions totally empty of galaxies, their characteristic volume is strongly dependent on sampling density; when they are defined as regions whose density is 0.2 times the mean galaxy density, the dependence is less strong. We compare two void-finding algorithms, one in which voids are nonoverlapping spheres, and one, based on the algorithm of Aikio and Mahonen, which does not predefine the shape of a void. Regardless of the algorithm chosen, the characteristic void size is larger in redshift space than in real space, and is larger for low sampling densities than for high sampling densities. We define an elongation statistic Q which measures the tendency of voids to be stretched or squashed along the line of sight. Using this statistic, we find that at sufficiently high sampling densities (comparable to the number densities of galaxies brighter than L_*), large voids tend to be slightly elongated along the line of sight in redshift space.Comment: LaTex, 21 pages (including 7 figures), ApJ, submitte

The orbits of 48 globular clusters in a Milky-Way-Like Barred Galaxy

The effect of a barred potential (such as the one of the Milky Way) on the galactic orbits of forty-eight globular clusters for which absolute proper motions are known is studied. The orbital characteristics are compared with those obtained for the case of an axisymmetric galactic potential. Tidal radii are computed and discussed for both the better known axisymmetric case and that including a bar. The destruction rates due to bulge and disk shocking are calculated and compared in both galactic potentials.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 36 pages, 12 figure

Evaluation of optical coherence tomography findings in age-related macular degeneration: a reproducibility study of two independent reading centres

International audienceBackground/aims : To determine the reproducibility among readers of two independent certified centers, the Vienna Reading Center (VRC) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Reading Center (UW-FPRC) for OCT images in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods : Fast macular thickness scans and 6 mm cross hair scans were obtained from 100 eyes with all subtypes of AMD using Stratus OCT. Consensus readings were performed by two certified OCT readers of each Reading Center using their grading protocol. Common variables of both grading protocols, such as presence of cystoid spaces, subretinal fluid, vitreomacular traction and retinal pigment epithelial detachment were compared using kappa statistics. In addition, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated for center point thickness (CPT) of values remeasured manually in the presence of alignment errors. Results : The reproducibility was dependent on the variable measured with a kappa value of 0.81 for the presence of cystoid spaces, 0.78 for the presence of subretinal fluid and 0.795 for the presence of vitreomacular traction. The lowest reproducibility was found for the presence of retinal pigment epithelial detachment with a kappa value of 0.51. The CPT was remeasured in 29 out of 100 scans at both sites with an ICC of the remeasured thicknesses of 0.92. Conclusion : OCT scan data are crucial in monitoring treatment efficacy in AMD clinical trials. For comparison of results obtained by different Reading Centers, the inter-Reading Center reproducibility is essential. Although the reproducibility is generally high, the reliability depends on the selected morphological parameters

Analysis of collection of hemolytic uremic syndrome-associated enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

Multilocus sequence typing of 169 non-O157 enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) isolated from patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) demonstrated 29 different sequence types (STs); 78.1% of these strains clustered in 5 STs. From all STs and serotypes identified, we established a reference panel of EHEC associated with HUS (HUSEC collection).</p