Retinol deficiency and Dipetalonema viteae infection in the hamster

Following chronic retinol (vitamin A) deprivation leading to exhaustion of liver vitamin A reserves below 50 I.U. per liver hamsters were fed diets either deficient in ("Rd”: 250 I.U.A/kg in experiment I, 1000 I.U.A/kg in experiment II) or enriched with retinol ("Rw”: 10000 I.U.A/kg in experiment I and II). After 4 weeks some of the animals (36 in experiment I, 30 in II) were infected with 150 3rd-stage larvae of D. viteae, while clean animals were kept as controls. The retinol status, the immune response (indirect fluorescent antibody test: IFAT) and parasitological parameters were examined up to 8 (experiment I) and 12 weeks (experiment II) post infection (p.i.). Rd hamsters had levelling off of weight gain or weight loss, severely deficient retinol levels in serum and liver, and high mortality. Weight gain was less in infected than in uninfected hamsters, and the capacity of infected Rw animals to restore liver retinol was significantly lower than that of uninfected Rw animals. IFAT titres were similar in Rd and in Rw animals, but microfilaraemia was significantly enhanced at 8 and 10·5 weeks p.i. in Rd hamsters. While the number of worms recovered from Rd and Rw hamsters was similar, there was a significant increase in the ratio of female to male worms in Rd hamsters. Rd hamsters in experiment I produced 3·3 times the worm mass per 100 g body-weight than Rw hamsters. Also, the average mass per female worm was significantly higher in Rd than in Rw hamsters, and this parameter was negatively correlated with the liver retinol concentration in experiment I (r=−0·89). Retinol deficiency has a marked effect on growth and fertility of D. viteae in hamster

The I-mode confinement regime at ASDEX Upgrade: global propert ies and characterization of strongly intermittent density fluctuations

Properties of the I­mode confinement regime on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak are summarized. A weak dependence of the power threshold for the L­I transition on the toroidal magnetic field strength is found. During improved confinement, the edge radial electric field well deepens. Stability calculations show that the I­mode pedestal is peeling­ballooning stable. Turbulence investigations reveal strongly intermittent density fluctuations linked to the weakly coherent mode in the confined plasma, which become stronger as the confinement quality increases. Across all investigated structure sizes ( ≈ ⊥ k 5 – 12 cm − 1 , with ⊥ k the perpendicular wavenumber of turbulent density fluctuations), the intermittent turbulence bursts are observed. Comparison with bolometry data shows that they move poloidally toward the X­point and finally end up in the divertor. This might be indicative that they play a role in inhibiting the density profile growth, such that no pedestal is formed in the edge density profile.European Union (EUROfusion 633053)European Union (EUROfusion AWP15­ENR­09/IPP­02

Construction and Test of MDT Chambers for the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer

The Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) chambers for the muon spectrometer of the AT- LAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) consist of 3-4 layers of pressurized drift tubes on either side of a space frame carrying an optical monitoring system to correct for deformations. The full-scale prototype of a large MDT chamber has been constructed with methods suitable for large-scale production. X-ray measurements at CERN showed a positioning accuracy of the sense wires in the chamber of better than the required 20 ?microns (rms). The performance of the chamber was studied in a muon beam at CERN. Chamber production for ATLAS now has started

Artery tertiary lymphoid organs control multi-layered territorialized atherosclerosis B cell responses in aged ApoE-/- mice

Objective: Explore aorta B cell immunity in aged ApoE-/- mice. Approach and Results: Transcript maps, FACS, immunofluorescence analyses, cell transfers, and Ig-ELISPOT assays showed multi-layered atherosclerosis B cell responses in artery tertiary lymphoid organs (ATLOs). Aging-associated aorta B cell-related transcriptomes were identified and transcript atlases revealed highly territorialized B cell responses in ATLOs versus atherosclerotic lesions: ATLOs showed upregulation of bona fide B cell genes including Cd19, Ms4a1 (Cd20), Cd79a/b, and Ighm though intima plaques preferentially expressed molecules involved in non-B effector responses towards B cell-derived mediators, i.e. Fcgr3 (Cd16), Fcer1g (Cd23), and the C1q family. ATLOs promoted B cell recruitment. ATLO B-2 B cells included naïve, transitional, follicular, germinal center, switched IgG1+, IgA+, and IgE+ memory cells, plasmablasts, and long-lived plasma cells (PCs). ATLOs recruited large numbers of B-1 cells whose subtypes were skewed towards IL-10+ B-1b cells versus IL-10- B-1a cells. ATLO B-1 cells and PCs constitutively produced IgM and IgG and a fraction of PCs expressed IL-10. Moreover, ApoE-/- mice showed increased germinal center B cells in renal lymph nodes, IgM-producing PCs in the bone marrow, and higher IgM and anti-MDA-LDL IgG serum titers. Conclusions: ATLOs orchestrate dichotomic, territorialized, and multi-layered B cell responses in the diseased aorta; germinal center reactions indicate generation of autoimmune B cells within the diseased arterial wall during aging

Construction and Test of the Precision Drift Chambers for the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer

The Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) chambers for the muon spectrometer of the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) consist of 3-4 layers of pressurised drift tubes on either side of a space frame carrying an optical deformation monitoring system. The chambers have to provide a track position resolution of 40 microns with a single-tube resolution of at least 80 microns and a sense wire positioning accu- racy of 20 ?microns (rms). The feasibility was demonstrated with the full-scale prototype of one of the largest MDT chambers with 432 drift tubes of 3.8 m length. For the ATLAS muon spectrometer, 88 chambers of this type have to be built. The first chamber has been completed with a wire positioning accuracy of 14 microns (rms)

Reduced model for H-mode sustainment in unfavorable ∇B\mathbf{ \nabla B} drift configuration in ASDEX Upgrade

A recently developed reduced model of H-mode sustainment based on interchange-drift-Alfv\'en turbulence description in the vicinity of the separatrix matching experimental observations in ASDEX Upgrade has been extended to experiments with the unfavorable $\nabla B$ drift. The combination with the theory of the magnetic-shear-induced Reynolds stress offers a possibility to quantitatively explain the phenomena. The extension of the Reynolds stress estimate in the reduced model via the magnetic shear contribution is able to reproduce the strong asymmetry in the access conditions depending on the ion $\nabla B$ drift orientation in agreement with experimental observations. The Reynolds stress profile asymmetry predicted by the magnetic shear model is further extended by comparison with GRILLIX and GENE-X simulations matched with comparable experiments in realistic X-point geometry. The predictions of the radial electric field well depth and its difference between the favorable and unfavorable configurations at the same heating power from the extended model also show consistency with experimental measurements.Comment: Submitted to Nuclear Fusio