Spin dephasing and photoinduced spin diffusion in high-mobility 110-grown GaAs-AlGaAs two-dimensional electron systems

We have studied spin dephasing and spin diffusion in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron system, embedded in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well grown in the [110] direction, by a two-beam Hanle experiment. For very low excitation density, we observe spin lifetimes of more than 16 ns, which rapidly decrease as the pump intensity is increased. Two mechanisms contribute to this decrease: the optical excitation produces holes, which lead to a decay of electron spin via the Bir-Aranov-Pikus mechanism and recombination with spin-polarized electrons. By scanning the distance between the pump and probe beams, we observe the diffusion of spin-polarized electrons over more than 20 microns. For high pump intensity, the spin polarization in a distance of several microns from the pump beam is larger than at the pump spot, due to the reduced influence of photogenerated holes.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Invasive Techniken in der Notfallmedizin: IV. Koniotomie im Notarztdienst

Zusammenfassung: Die Koniotomie im Notarztdienst ist eine sehr invasive Methode zur Atemwegssicherung. Sie ist aber unabdingbar, wenn andere weniger invasive Verfahren der Atemwegssicherung misslingen oder sich situationsabhängig als nicht zweckmäßig erweisen. Für die Durchführung wurden verschiedene Verfahren beschrieben, die in anatomisch-chirurgische Präpariertechniken und Punktionsverfahren unterteilt werden können. Das im jeweiligen Notarztsystem bevorzugte Verfahren orientiert sich meist an abteilungsüblichen Standards, die vom klinischen Vorgehen abgeleitet werden. Ausbildungs- und Trainingsmöglichkeiten für die einzelnen Verfahren bestehen in der Intensivmedizin, am Leichenpräparat und am Phantom. In dieser Arbeit werden verschiedene Methoden der Koniotomie besprochen sowie eine anatomische Präpariertechnik und 2Punktionsverfahren im Detail dargestell

Aplastic Crisis as Primary Manifestation of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Aplastic crisis is an unusual feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report the case of a 54-year-old woman presenting with both (extravascular) Coombs-positive hemolytic anemia and laboratory findings of bone marrow hyporegeneration with concomitant severe neutropenia. A bone marrow biopsy confirmed aplastic crisis. Diagnostic work-up revealed soaring titers of autoantibodies (anti-nuclear, anti-double-stranded DNA, anti-cardiolipin-IgM, and anti-beta 2-glykoprotein-IgM antibodies), indicating a connective tissue disease as the most plausible reason for bone marrow insufficiency. As the criteria for SLE were fulfilled, we initiated an immunosuppressive therapy by steroids, which led to a rapid complete hematologic and clinical remission in our patient. In this case, we could report on one of the rare cases of SLE-induced aplastic crisis showing that this condition can be entirely reversed by immunosuppressive treatment and that SLE-induced aplastic crisis yields a good prognosis. In conclusion, in a case of aplastic crisis, physicians should be aware that SLE can be a rare cause that is accessible to specific treatment

Birth Size in Neonates with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase Deficiency

Objective:Classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) secondary to 21-hydroxylase deficiency is characterized by increased prenatal adrenal androgen secretion. There are a small number of reports in the literature showing higher birth weight and length in CAH newborns.Methods:We analyzed birth weight and length data of 116 German newborns (48 boys, 68 girls) with classic CAH who were born during the period from 1990 to 2017. All children have been followed or are currently treated as outpatients in our clinic. All children were born at term. The mothers were healthy and their pregnancies were uneventful. The diagnosis of CAH was confirmed by molecular analyses of the CYP21A2 gene. Birth data were calculated as standard deviation (SD) scores according to German reference values.Results:Weight and length in male CAH newborns (mean ± SD) (3601±576 g; 52.4±2.85 cm) were significantly higher than in female CAH newborns (3347±442 g; 51.2±2.55 cm), but male-female differences in the CAH cohort were lost when the data were converted into SD scores. The birth sizes of the CAH newborns did not differ from the reference group. The birth sizes also did not differ between the different CAH genotypes. Maternal age, mode of delivery and maternal parity had no influence on birth size.Conclusion:Our data show that prenatal hyperandrogenism does not affect fetal growth

An integrative approach to more nuanced estimates of personality–job–performance relations

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available on OSF at https://osf.io/ys72j/?view_only=f48aeaf9414d46fb81019186030afbdcRecent research has suggested that self- and other-ratings of personality may provide different information about personality, which can be captured in the trait–reputation–identity (TRI) model. Based on the TRI model, we investigate the link between personality and aligned job performance criteria on domain and aspect levels of the Big Five personality traits. In five samples (overall N = 571 triplets of target self-ratings and two coworker other-ratings), we investigated the relationships between the shared information on personality and shared information about job performance. We found that all personality domains showed substantial criterion validity in predicting the corresponding job-performance dimensions. Furthermore, we found stronger estimates for aspects of agreeableness and openness. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for target replacement and performance management

Multiplicity dependence of jet-like two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between unidentified charged trigger and associated particles are measured by the ALICE detector in p-Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The transverse-momentum range 0.7 $< p_{\rm{T}, assoc} < p_{\rm{T}, trig} <$ 5.0 GeV/$c$ is examined, to include correlations induced by jets originating from low momen\-tum-transfer scatterings (minijets). The correlations expressed as associated yield per trigger particle are obtained in the pseudorapidity range $|\eta|<0.9$. The near-side long-range pseudorapidity correlations observed in high-multiplicity p-Pb collisions are subtracted from both near-side short-range and away-side correlations in order to remove the non-jet-like components. The yields in the jet-like peaks are found to be invariant with event multiplicity with the exception of events with low multiplicity. This invariance is consistent with the particles being produced via the incoherent fragmentation of multiple parton--parton scatterings, while the yield related to the previously observed ridge structures is not jet-related. The number of uncorrelated sources of particle production is found to increase linearly with multiplicity, suggesting no saturation of the number of multi-parton interactions even in the highest multiplicity p-Pb collisions. Further, the number scales in the intermediate multiplicity region with the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions estimated with a Glauber Monte-Carlo simulation.Comment: 23 pages, 6 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 17, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/161

Multi-particle azimuthal correlations in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

Measurements of multi-particle azimuthal correlations (cumulants) for charged particles in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions are presented. They help address the question of whether there is evidence for global, flow-like, azimuthal correlations in the p-Pb system. Comparisons are made to measurements from the larger Pb-Pb system, where such evidence is established. In particular, the second harmonic two-particle cumulants are found to decrease with multiplicity, characteristic of a dominance of few-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions. However, when a $|\Delta \eta|$ gap is placed to suppress such correlations, the two-particle cumulants begin to rise at high-multiplicity, indicating the presence of global azimuthal correlations. The Pb-Pb values are higher than the p-Pb values at similar multiplicities. In both systems, the second harmonic four-particle cumulants exhibit a transition from positive to negative values when the multiplicity increases. The negative values allow for a measurement of $v_{2}\{4\}$ to be made, which is found to be higher in Pb-Pb collisions at similar multiplicities. The second harmonic six-particle cumulants are also found to be higher in Pb-Pb collisions. In Pb-Pb collisions, we generally find $v_{2}\{4\} \simeq v_{2}\{6\}\neq 0$ which is indicative of a Bessel-Gaussian function for the $v_{2}$ distribution. For very high-multiplicity Pb-Pb collisions, we observe that the four- and six-particle cumulants become consistent with 0. Finally, third harmonic two-particle cumulants in p-Pb and Pb-Pb are measured. These are found to be similar for overlapping multiplicities, when a $|\Delta\eta| > 1.4$ gap is placed.Comment: 25 pages, 11 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 20, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/87

Human Double-Negative Regulatory T-Cells Induce a Metabolic and Functional Switch in Effector T-Cells by Suppressing mTOR Activity

The recently discovered population of TCRαβ+ CD4–/CD8– (double-negative, DN) T-cells are highly potent suppressor cells in mice and humans. In preclinical transplantation models, adoptive transfer of DN T-cells specifically inhibits alloreactive T-cells and prevents transplant rejection or graft-vs.-host disease (GvHD). Interestingly, clinical studies in patients who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation reveal an inverse correlation between the frequency of circulating DN T-cells and the severity of GvHD, suggesting a therapeutic potential of human DN T-cells. However, their exact mode of action has not been elucidated yet. Investigating the impact of DN T-cells on conventional T-cells, we found that human DN T-cells selectively inhibit mTOR signaling in CD4 T-cells. Given that mTOR is a critical regulator of cellular metabolism, we further determined the impact of DN T-cells on the metabolic framework of T-cells. Intriguingly, DN T-cells diminished expression of glucose transporters and glucose uptake, whereas fatty acid uptake was not modified, indicating that DN T-cells prevent metabolic adaptation of CD4 T-cells upon activation (i.e., glycolytic switch) thereby contributing to their suppression. Further analyses demonstrated that CD4 T-cells also do not upregulate homing receptors associated with inflammatory processes. In contrast, expression of central memory-cell associated cell surface markers and transcription factors were increased by DN T-cells. Moreover, CD4 T-cells failed to produce inflammatory cytokines after co-culture with DN T-cells, whereas IL-2 secretion was enhanced. Taken together DN T-cells impair metabolic reprogramming of conventional CD4 T-cells by abrogating mTOR signaling, thereby modulating CD4 T-cell functionality. These results uncover a new mechanism of DN T-cell-mediated suppression, pointing out that DN T-cells could serve as cell-based therapy to limit alloreactive immune response

A distinct CD38+CD45RA+ population of CD4+, CD8+, and double-negative T cells is controlled by FAS.

The identification and characterization of rare immune cell populations in humans can be facilitated by their growth advantage in the context of specific genetic diseases. Here, we use autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome to identify a population of FAS-controlled TCRαβ+ T cells. They include CD4+, CD8+, and double-negative T cells and can be defined by a CD38+CD45RA+T-BET- expression pattern. These unconventional T cells are present in healthy individuals, are generated before birth, are enriched in lymphoid tissue, and do not expand during acute viral infection. They are characterized by a unique molecular signature that is unambiguously different from other known T cell differentiation subsets and independent of CD4 or CD8 expression. Functionally, FAS-controlled T cells represent highly proliferative, noncytotoxic T cells with an IL-10 cytokine bias. Mechanistically, regulation of this physiological population is mediated by FAS and CTLA4 signaling, and its survival is enhanced by mTOR and STAT3 signals. Genetic alterations in these pathways result in expansion of FAS-controlled T cells, which can cause significant lymphoproliferative disease