Effect of Wall Thickness and Surface Conditions on Creep Behavior of a Single-Crystal Ni-Based Superalloy

The influence of wall thickness and specimen surface on the creep behavior of the single-crystal nickel-based superalloy MAR M247LC is studied. Specimens with wall thicknesses of 0.4, 0.8, 1 and 2 mm, with and without casting surface, are compared to specimens of the same wall thickness prepared from bulk material. Creep behavior turned out to be independent from surface conditions even for the thinnest specimens. The thickness debit effect is not pronounced for short creep rupture times (le;100 h at 980 deg;C), whereas it is significant for creep rupture times longer than ~200 h at 980 deg;C. The thickness debit effect is time-dependent and caused by oxidation and diffusion-controlled mechanisms

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

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

The rearing environment persistently modulates mouse phenotypes from the molecular to the behavioural level.

The phenotype of an organism results from its genotype and the influence of the environment throughout development. Even when using animals of the same genotype, independent studies may test animals of different phenotypes, resulting in poor replicability due to genotype-by-environment interactions. Thus, genetically defined strains of mice may respond differently to experimental treatments depending on their rearing environment. However, the extent of such phenotypic plasticity and its implications for the replicability of research findings have remained unknown. Here, we examined the extent to which common environmental differences between animal facilities modulate the phenotype of genetically homogeneous (inbred) mice. We conducted a comprehensive multicentre study, whereby inbred C57BL/6J mice from a single breeding cohort were allocated to and reared in 5 different animal facilities throughout early life and adolescence, before being transported to a single test laboratory. We found persistent effects of the rearing facility on the composition and heterogeneity of the gut microbial community. These effects were paralleled by persistent differences in body weight and in the behavioural phenotype of the mice. Furthermore, we show that environmental variation among animal facilities is strong enough to influence epigenetic patterns in neurons at the level of chromatin organisation. We detected changes in chromatin organisation in the regulatory regions of genes involved in nucleosome assembly, neuronal differentiation, synaptic plasticity, and regulation of behaviour. Our findings demonstrate that common environmental differences between animal facilities may produce facility-specific phenotypes, from the molecular to the behavioural level. Furthermore, they highlight an important limitation of inferences from single-laboratory studies and thus argue that study designs should take environmental background into account to increase the robustness and replicability of findings

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

CD137 (4-1BB) stimulation leads to metabolic and functional reprogramming of human monocytes/macrophages enhancing their tumoricidal activity

Abstract Immunotherapies have heralded a new era in the cancer treatment. In addition to checkpoint inhibitors, agonistic antibodies against co-stimulatory immune receptors hold the potential to invoke efficient antitumor immunity. Targeting CD137 has gained momentum based on its ability to drive NK- and T-cell-based responses. CD137-engaging mAbs have already entered clinical trials for different types of tumors showing promising results. Despite the efforts to translate CD137-mediated immunotherapy into clinical practice, little remains known regarding the role of CD137 in human monocytes/macrophages. We found CD137 being expressed on monocytes of healthy controls and at even higher levels in patients with multiple myeloma or CLL. CD137HI(GH) monocytes displayed a distinct phenotypic, transcriptomic, and metabolic profile. They possessed an increased phagocytic capacity enabling superior antibody-dependent phagocytosis (ADPC) of multiple myeloma and lymphoma cells that were treated with anti-CD38 or anti-CD20 mAbs. Triggering CD137 promoted both metabolic and tumoricidal activity in an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-dependent fashion. In addition, we observed a phenotypic, transcriptomic, and functional skewing towards a M1-like phenotype. Overall, we introduce CD137 as a positive immune checkpoint on human monocytes/macrophages, which can have therapeutic implications especially in view of synergistic effects when combining CD137 agonists with tumor-targeting antibodies

Ant Mimicry by an Aphid Parasitoid, Lysiphlebus fabarum

In Iran, Lysiphlebus fabarum (Marshall) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) is a uniparental parasitoid of the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae Scopoli (Hemiptera: Aphididae), that possesses various highly evolved adaptations for foraging within ant-tended aphid colonies. Direct observations and video recordings were used to analyze the behavior of individual females foraging for A. fabae on bean leaf disks in open arenas in the laboratory. Females exploited aphids as hosts and as a source of food, allocating within-patch time as follows: resting - 10.4%, grooming - 8.2%, searching - 11.5%, antennation (host recognition) - 7.5%, antennation (honeydew solicitation mimicking ants) - 31.9%, abdominal bending (attack preparation) 19.7%, probing with the ovipositor (attack) - 10.8%. The mean handling time for each aphid encountered was 2.0 ± 0.5 min. Females encountered an average of 47.4 ± 6.4 aphids per hour, but laid only 1.2 eggs per hour. The ovipositor insertion time for parasitism ranged from 2 sec to longer than a minute, but most insertions did not result in an egg being laid. A. fabae defensive behaviors included kicking, raising and swiveling the body, and attempts to smear the attacker with cornicle secretions, sometimes with lethal results. Food deprivation for 4–6 h prior to testing increased the frequency of ant mimcry by L. fabarum. Females also used ant-like antennation to reduce A. fabae defensive behavior, e.g. the frequency of kicking. L. fabarum attacks primed A. fabae to be more responsive to subsequent honeydew solicitation, such that experienced females improved their feeding success by alternating between the roles of parasitoid and ant mimic. These results reveal the possibility for mutualisms to evolve between L. fabarum and the ant species that tend A. fabae, since L. fabarum receive ant protection for their progeny and may benefit the ants by improving A. fabae responsiveness to honeydew solicitation

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