380 research outputs found
Lung epithelial apoptosis in influenza virus pneumonia: the role of macrophage-expressed TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand
Mononuclear phagocytes have been attributed a crucial role in the host defense toward influenza virus (IV), but their contribution to influenza-induced lung failure is incompletely understood. We demonstrate for the first time that lung-recruited “exudate” macrophages significantly contribute to alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) apoptosis by the release of tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in a murine model of influenza-induced pneumonia. Using CC-chemokine receptor 2–deficient (CCR2−/−) mice characterized by defective inflammatory macrophage recruitment, and blocking anti-CCR2 antibodies, we show that exudate macrophage accumulation in the lungs of influenza-infected mice is associated with pronounced AEC apoptosis and increased lung leakage and mortality. Among several proapoptotic mediators analyzed, TRAIL messenger RNA was found to be markedly up-regulated in alveolar exudate macrophages as compared with peripheral blood monocytes. Moreover, among the different alveolar-recruited leukocyte subsets, TRAIL protein was predominantly expressed on macrophages. Finally, abrogation of TRAIL signaling in exudate macrophages resulted in significantly reduced AEC apoptosis, attenuated lung leakage, and increased survival upon IV infection. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a key role for exudate macrophages in the induction of alveolar leakage and mortality in IV pneumonia. Epithelial cell apoptosis induced by TRAIL-expressing macrophages is identified as a major underlying mechanism
Transfer of quantum states using finite resources
We discuss the problem of transfering a qubit from Alice to Bob using a noisy
quantum channel and only finite resources. As the basic protocol for the
transfer we apply quantum teleportation. It turns out that for a certain
quality of the channel direct teleportation combined with qubit purification is
superior to entanglement purification of the channel. If, however, the quality
of the channel is rather low one should simply apply an estimation-preparation
scheme.Comment: 9 pages RevTeX including 5 figures, replaced with revised version, to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Dynamics of entanglement between two trapped atoms
We investigate the dynamics of entanglement between two continuous variable
quantum systems. The model system consists of two atoms in a harmonic trap
which are interacting by a simplified s-wave scattering. We show, that the
dynamically created entanglement changes in a steplike manner. Moreover, we
introduce local operators which allow us to violate a Bell-CHSH inequality
adapted to the continuous variable case. The correlations show nonclassical
behavior and almost reach the maximal quantum mechanical value. This is
interesting since the states prepared by this interaction are very different
from any EPR-like state.Comment: 9 page
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Genotype List String 1.1: Extending the Genotype List String grammar for describing HLA and Killer-cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor genotypes.
The Genotype List (GL) String grammar for reporting HLA and Killer-cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor (KIR) genotypes in a text string was described in 2013. Since this initial description, GL Strings have been used to describe HLA and KIR genotypes for more than 40 million subjects, allowing these data to be recorded, stored and transmitted in an easily parsed, text-based format. After a decade of working with HLA and KIR data in GL String format, with advances in HLA and KIR genotyping technologies that have fostered the generation of full-gene sequence data, the need for an extension of the GL String system has become clear. Here, we introduce the new GL String delimiter ?, which addresses the need to describe ambiguity in assigning a gene sequence to gene paralogs. GL Strings that do not include a ? delimiter continue to be interpreted as originally described. This extension represents version 1.1 of the GL String grammar
Optimal estimation of qubit states with continuous time measurements
We propose an adaptive, two steps strategy, for the estimation of mixed qubit
states. We show that the strategy is optimal in a local minimax sense for the
trace norm distance as well as other locally quadratic figures of merit. Local
minimax optimality means that given identical qubits, there exists no
estimator which can perform better than the proposed estimator on a
neighborhood of size of an arbitrary state. In particular, it is
asymptotically Bayesian optimal for a large class of prior distributions.
We present a physical implementation of the optimal estimation strategy based
on continuous time measurements in a field that couples with the qubits.
The crucial ingredient of the result is the concept of local asymptotic
normality (or LAN) for qubits. This means that, for large , the statistical
model described by identically prepared qubits is locally equivalent to a
model with only a classical Gaussian distribution and a Gaussian state of a
quantum harmonic oscillator.
The term `local' refers to a shrinking neighborhood around a fixed state
. An essential result is that the neighborhood radius can be chosen
arbitrarily close to . This allows us to use a two steps procedure by
which we first localize the state within a smaller neighborhood of radius
, and then use LAN to perform optimal estimation.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Commun. Math. Phy
The hard X-ray view of the low-luminosity blazar in the radio galaxy NGC6251
We present results from a BeppoSAX (July 2001) observation of the FRI radio
galaxy NGC6251, together with a re-analysis of archival ASCA (October 1994) and
Chandra (September 2000) data. The weak detection above 10 keV and the lack of
iron fluorescent K-alpha emission lines in the BeppoSAX spectrum rule out that
the bulk of the X-ray emission is due to an obscured Seyfert nucleus. The study
of the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution suggests instead that
X-rays probably originate as inverse-Compton of synchrotron seed photons in a
relativistic jet, indicating that NGC6251 hosts a low radio luminosity [L(5
GHz) ~10^40 erg/s] blazar. The BeppoSAX spectrum is flatter than in the earlier
ASCA observation. This might be due to the emergence of a different spectral
component during phases of lower X-ray flux. In this context, we discuss some
possible explanations for the intense and mildly-ionized fluorescent iron line
measured by ASCA.Comment: 8 Latex pages, 6 figures, To appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic
TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives
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