Metallic Cylinder Reflected Power Measurement For 93.1GHz Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar Calibration

A metallic cylinder is one of the best materials and shapes to calibrate a radar system performance. The measurement of a 4cm diameter and 3cm-height metallic cylinder as a target has been presented for the analysis at the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum. This experiment was conducted in a real airport environment at Kuala Lumpur International Airport considering clear sky conditions. The measurement was carried out at 93.1 GHz which uses Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar to consistently detect the target. The radar cross-section (RCS) of the metallic cylinder is measured with respect to the angle of runway pavement. It is found that the measurements exhibited smaller RCS value with an average of –43.47 dBsm at a longer range compared to –30.16 dBsm at a shorter range with a total change of 13.31 dBsm. The reflectivity characteristics of the radar target, theoretical measurement of the metallic cylinder, its incident angle from the radar target, and measurement evaluation are presented in this paper

Metallic Cylinder Reflected Power Measurement For 93.1GHz Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar Calibration

A metallic cylinder is one of the best materials and shapes to calibrate a radar system performance. The measurement of a 4cm diameter and 3cm-height metallic cylinder as a target has been presented for the analysis at the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum. This experiment was conducted in a real airport environment at Kuala Lumpur International Airport considering clear sky conditions. The measurement was carried out at 93.1 GHz which uses Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar to consistently detect the target. The radar cross-section (RCS) of the metallic cylinder is measured with respect to the angle of runway pavement. It is found that the measurements exhibited smaller RCS value with an average of –43.47 dBsm at a longer range compared to –30.16 dBsm at a shorter range with a total change of 13.31 dBsm. The reflectivity characteristics of the radar target, theoretical measurement of the metallic cylinder, its incident angle from the radar target, and measurement evaluation are presented in this paper

Line of sight visibility analysis for foreign object debris detection system

It is challenging to monitor busy airports' runway through visual inspection to precisely detect foreign object debris. Currently, many technologies for the detection of foreign object debris are available. It has been investigated that millimeter-wave radar technology's detection capability can be one of the most effective techniques for detecting foreign object debris as it is weather-resilient. However, the positioning and height of a millimeter-wave radar pole covering the runway area, considering the existing runway infrastructure, are challenging. The task involves finding the appropriate placement and optimum height. This paper presents a novel method of line of sight visibility for placement and height of radar pole using human factor research to ensure that each point on the runway is visible from various heights of the millimeter-wave radar pole to the runway locations. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia runway 32L/14R, has used a case study to test the visibility analysis. The visual analytic test's successful results for different millimeter-wave radar pole locations and viewing heights under a visible and invisible line of sight conditions on the runway have been verified in the field experiment

The sulfur pathway and diagnosis of sulfate depletion in grapevine

Sulfur is an essential nutrient to all plant species. Plants assimilate sulfur in a well-described pathway, which has been taken up by roots. Regulatory mech- anism has been the subject of many research papers. However, recent studies highlighted differences between crop plants and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Our work focuses on the identification of genes involved in the sulfur metabolism in the Vitis vinifera genome, and their response to sulfur deficiency and other abiotic stress endured by grapevine in the field, namely water stress. Here, we describe the identification and brief characterization of the first assimilation enzymes involved in the sulfur pathway, the enzyme responsible for sulfur activa- tion, ATP sulfurylase (ATPS), and the two enzymes that reduce sulfate to sulfide, Adenosine 50-phosphosulate reductase (APR) and Sulfite reductase (SiR). A reduc- tion was observed in the number of ATPS and APR isoforms identified in V. vinifera genome when compared to A. thaliana or Glycine max genomes. Two ATPS isoforms were present in the Vitis genome, of which only ATPS1 transcript was detected in the tested tissues, and one APR isoform, suggesting an absence of redundancy in the role of both enzymes. ATPS1, APR and SiR transcript level was up-regulated in response to 2 days exposure to sulfur deficiency in V. vinifera cell cultures, which was completely reversed by the addition of GSH to the culture medium. Apparently, oxidative stress triggered GSH has a pivotal role in the regulation of ATPS1, APR and SiR transcription level, since their up-regulation was observed in mRNA from field grapevine berries under water stress, which is known to induce oxidative stress.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dendritic Cells Transfected with scFv from Mab 7.B12 Mimicking Original Antigen gp43 Induces Protection against Experimental Paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), endemic in Latin America, is a progressive systemic mycosis caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (P. brasiliensis), which primarily attacks lung tissue. Dendritic cells (DCs) are able to initiate a response in naïve T cells, and they also participate in Th-cell education. Furthermore, these cells have been used for therapy in several disease models. Here we transfected DCs with a plasmid (pMAC/PS-scFv) encoding a single chain variable fragment (scFv) of an anti-Id antibody that is capable of mimicking gp43, the main antigenic component of P. brasiliensis. First, Balb/c mice were immunized subcutaneously with pMAC/PS-scFv and, after seven days, scFv protein was presented to the regional lymph nodes cells. Moreover, we showed that the DCs transfected with scFv were capable of efficiently activating proliferation of total lymph node cells and inducing a decrease in lung infection. Therefore, our results suggested that the use of scFv-transfected DCs may be a promising therapy in the paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) model

Sequence Analysis of the Genome of an Oil-Bearing Tree, Jatropha curcas L.

The whole genome of Jatropha curcas was sequenced, using a combination of the conventional Sanger method and new-generation multiplex sequencing methods. Total length of the non-redundant sequences thus obtained was 285 858 490 bp consisting of 120 586 contigs and 29 831 singlets. They accounted for ∼95% of the gene-containing regions with the average G + C content was 34.3%. A total of 40 929 complete and partial structures of protein encoding genes have been deduced. Comparison with genes of other plant species indicated that 1529 (4%) of the putative protein-encoding genes are specific to the Euphorbiaceae family. A high degree of microsynteny was observed with the genome of castor bean and, to a lesser extent, with those of soybean and Arabidopsis thaliana. In parallel with genome sequencing, cDNAs derived from leaf and callus tissues were subjected to pyrosequencing, and a total of 21 225 unigene data have been generated. Polymorphism analysis using microsatellite markers developed from the genomic sequence data obtained was performed with 12 J. curcas lines collected from various parts of the world to estimate their genetic diversity. The genomic sequence and accompanying information presented here are expected to serve as valuable resources for the acceleration of fundamental and applied research with J. curcas, especially in the fields of environment-related research such as biofuel production. Further information on the genomic sequences and DNA markers is available at http://www.kazusa.or.jp/jatropha/

Risk factors of post renal transplant anaemia among Sudanese patients, a study in three renal transplant centres

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a relative lack of recent information about late post kidney transplantation anaemia (PTA), especially in the developing countries; data are scarce about the prevalence and risk factors of PTA. Sudan was a leading country in Africa and Arab world in kidney transplantation. The first kidney transplantation in Sudan was in 1973.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a cross-sectional hospital analytic study enrolling all kidney transplanted recipients following in the transplant referral clinics at Ahmed Gassim, Selma and Ibn Sina Hospitals, Khartoum/Sudan, in the period from 1/8/2010 to 1/9/2010, clinical and laboratory data were obtained from 114 patients, anaemia was defined as Hb levels of < 13 g/dl for male patients and < 12 g/dl for female patients, exclusion criteria were pregnancy, below 18 years old patients, multiple organ transplantation, and patients with less than one year from the transplantation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study showed that 39.5% of the patients were anaemic. Univariate analysis showed that late PTA is significantly associated with not using Erythropoietin (EPO) in the pre-transplant period (p = < 0.001), history of rejection (p = 0.003), longer time from transplantation (p = 0.015), and eGFR (p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that eGFR (p = < 0.001) and not use of EPO in the pre transplant period (p < 0.001) are strong predictors of PTA. The use of Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/Angiotensin receptors blockers (ACEI/ARB), immunosuppressive treatments, presence or absence of co-morbidities, donor type and donor age are not significantly associated with late PTA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study concluded that late PTA is common and under recognized. Risk factors for late PTA include renal dysfunction, history of rejection, longer duration of transplantation and not using EPO in the pre-transplant period. Renal dysfunction and not using EPO in the pre-transplant period are major predictors of late PTA.</p

Global identification of genes and pathways regulated by Akt during activation of T helper cells

We previously demonstrated that Akt differentially modulated a subset of NF-kB target genes during T cell activation. In the current study, we further explored the broader effects of Akt inhibition on T cell gene induction. Global microarray analysis was used to characterize T helper cell transcriptional responses following antigen receptor stimulation in the absence or presence of Akti1/2 (an allosteric inhibitor which targets Akt1 and Akt2), to identify novel targets dependent upon Akt and obtain a more comprehensive view of Akt-sensitive genes in Th2 helper T cells. Pathway analysis of microarray data from a CD4+ Th2 T cell line revealed effects on gene networks involving ribosomal and T cell receptor signaling pathways associated with Akti1/2 treatment. Using real-time PCR analysis, we validated the differential regulation of several genes in these pathways, including Ier3, Il13, Egr1, Ccl1 and Ccl4, among others. Additionally, transcription factor target gene (TFactS) analysis revealed that NF-kB and Myc were the most significantly enriched transcription factors among Akt-dependent genes after T cell receptor and CD28 stimulation. Akt activation elicited increases in the enrichment of NF-kB- and Myc-targeted genes. The present study has identified a diverse set of genes, and possible mechanisms for their regulation, that are dependent on Akt during T cell activation

A Lipopeptide Facilitate Induction of Mycobacterium leprae Killing in Host Cells

Little is known of the direct microbicidal activity of T cells in leprosy, so a lipopeptide consisting of the N-terminal 13 amino acids lipopeptide (LipoK) of a 33-kD lipoprotein of Mycobacterium leprae, was synthesized. LipoK activated M. leprae infected human dendritic cells (DCs) to induce the production of IL-12. These activated DCs stimulated autologous CD4+ or CD8+ T cells towards type 1 immune response by inducing interferon-gamma secretion. T cell proliferation was also evident from the CFSE labeling of target CD4+ or CD8+ T cells. The direct microbicidal activity of T cells in the control of M. leprae multiplication is not well understood. The present study showed significant production of granulysin, granzyme B and perforin from these activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells when stimulated with LipoK activated, M. leprae infected DCs. Assessment of the viability of M. leprae in DCs indicated LipoK mediated T cell-dependent killing of M. leprae. Remarkably, granulysin as well as granzyme B could directly kill M. leprae in vitro. Our results provide evidence that LipoK could facilitate M. leprae killing through the production of effector molecules granulysin and granzyme B in T cells