Suppression and enhancement of the critical current in multiterminal S/N/S mesoscopic structures

We analyse the measured critical current $I_{m\text{}}$ in a mesoscopic 4-terminal S/N/S structure. The current through the S/N interface is shown to consist not only of the Josephson component $I_{c}\sin \phi ,$ but also a phase-coherent part $I_{sg}\cos \phi$ of the subgap current. The current $I_{m}$ is determined by the both components $I_{c}$ and $I_{sg},$ and depends in a nonmonotonic way on the voltage $V$ between superconductors and normal reservoirs reaching a maximum at $V\cong \Delta /e$. The obtained theoretical resultas are in qualitative agreement with recent experimental data.Comment: 4 page, 3 figures. To be puplished in PRB Rapid co

Exclusive light particle measurements for the system 19^{19}F + 12^{12}C at 96 MeV

Decay sequence of hot {31}^P nucleus has been investigated through exclusive light charged particle measurements in coincidence with individual evaporation residues using the reaction {19}^F (96 MeV) + {12}^C. Information on the sequential decay chain have been extracted by confronting the data with the predictions of the statistical model. It is observed from the present analysis that such exclusive light charged particle data may be used as a powerful tool to probe the decay sequence of the hot light compound systems.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Physical Review C (in press

Observation of hard scattering in photoproduction events with a large rapidity gap at HERA

Events with a large rapidity gap and total transverse energy greater than 5 GeV have been observed in quasi-real photoproduction at HERA with the ZEUS detector. The distribution of these events as a function of the $\gamma p$ centre of mass energy is consistent with diffractive scattering. For total transverse energies above 12 GeV, the hadronic final states show predominantly a two-jet structure with each jet having a transverse energy greater than 4 GeV. For the two-jet events, little energy flow is found outside the jets. This observation is consistent with the hard scattering of a quasi-real photon with a colourless object in the proton.Comment: 19 pages, latex, 4 figures appended as uuencoded fil

Exome sequencing of family trios from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study: Tapping into a rich resource of genetic and environmental data

Background: The National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) is a multisite, population-based, case–control study of genetic and nongenetic risk factors for major structural birth defects. Eligible women had a pregnancy affected by a birth defect or a liveborn child without a birth defect between 1997 and 2011. They were invited to complete a telephone interview to collect pregnancy exposure data and were mailed buccal cell collection kits to collect specimens from themselves, their child (if living), and their child's father. Over 23,000 families representing more than 30 major structural birth defects provided DNA specimens. Methods: To evaluate their utility for exome sequencing (ES), specimens from 20 children with colonic atresia were studied. Evaluations were conducted on specimens collected using cytobrushes stored and transported in open versus closed packaging, on native genomic DNA (gDNA) versus whole genome amplified (WGA) products and on a library preparation protocol adapted to low amounts of DNA. Results: The DNA extracted from brushes in open packaging yielded higher quality sequence data than DNA from brushes in closed packaging. Quality metrics of sequenced gDNA were consistently higher than metrics from corresponding WGA products and were consistently high when using a low input protocol. Conclusions: This proof-of-principle study established conditions under which ES can be applied to NBDPS specimens. Successful sequencing of exomes from well-characterized NBDPS families indicated that this unique collection can be used to investigate the roles of genetic variation and gene–environment interaction effects in birth defect etiologies, providing a valuable resource for birth defect researchers

Langerhans cells down-regulate inflammation-driven alveolar bone loss

Excessive bone resorption is frequently associated with chronic infections and inflammatory diseases. Whereas T cells were demonstrated to facilitate osteoclastogenesis in such diseases, the role of dendritic cells, the most potent activators of naive T cells, remains unclear. Using a model involving inflammation-driven alveolar bone loss attributable to infection, we showed that in vivo ablation of Langerhans cells (LCs) resulted in enhanced bone loss. An increased infiltration of B and T lymphocytes into the tissue surrounding the bone was observed in LC-ablated mice, including receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-expressing CD4+ T cells with known capabilities of altering bone homeostasis. In addition, the absence of LCs significantly reduced the numbers of CD4+Foxp3+ T-regulatory cells in the tissue. Further investigation revealed that LCs were not directly involved in presenting antigens to T cells. Nevertheless, despite their low numbers in the tissue, the absence of LCs resulted in an elevated activation of CD4+ but not CD8+ T cells. This activation involved elevated production of IFN-γ but not IL-17 or IL-10 cytokines. Our data, thus, reveal a protective immunoregulatory role for LCs in inflammation-induced alveolar bone resorption, by inhibiting IFN-γ secretion and excessive activation of RANKL+CD4+ T cells with a capability of promoting osteoclastogenesis