Experimental analysis of air vortex Impingement through porous screens

This paper presents the experimental analysis of air flow vortex propagation through porous screens. This study is conducted by a new and unique experimental setup for ve- locity measurements and visualization of air vortex interac- tion with porous screen. A custom-made, high-precision vortex generator provides a variety of velocity profiles for vortex generation with an unprecedented level of precision. The flow fields are captured with the use of a fog gener- ator and a high-speed CCD camera. The porous screens are constructed out of acrylic rods with various orientations, thickness, and porosities from rod separation. The results presented in this paper show the effect of porosity and air injection velocity on the behavior of air flow (separation, accumulation), and the transport phenomena of vortex flow while interacting with porous screens

Homeownership and Nontraditional and Subprime Mortgages

This article documents the growth and geographic distribution of nontraditional mortgages (NTMs) and subprime mortgages during 2000-2006, and examines the association between these products and homeownership at the county level between 2000 and 2012. It finds a significant relationship between the origination of NTM and subprime mortgages during the boom and changes in the number of homeowners (positive during the 2000-2006 period and negative during the 2006-2012 period) but no significant relationship with the change in the homeownership rate. Looking at specific categories of the population, the results indicate a positive relationship between the presence of NTMs and subprime mortgages and increased numbers of homeowners for young households as well as for low income and minority households, but the relationship is smaller than for the general population. Overall, the relationship between NTMs and homeownership is stronger than the relationship between subprime mortgages and homeownership during the boom and it is less negative during the bust

Biochanin a Enhances the Defense Against Salmonella enterica Infection Through AMPK/ULK1/mTOR-Mediated Autophagy and Extracellular Traps and Reversing SPI-1-Dependent Macrophage (MΦ) M2 Polarization

A novel treatment regimen for bacterial infections is the pharmacological enhancement of the host's immune defenses. We demonstrated that biochanin A (BCA), an isoflavone constituent in some plants, could enhance both intra- and extracellular bactericidal activity of host cells. First, BCA could induce a complete autophagic response in nonphagocytic cells (HeLa) or macrophages (MΦ) via the AMPK/ULK1/mTOR pathway and Beclin-1-dependent manner, and BCA enhanced the killing of invading Salmonella by autophagy through reinforcing ubiquitinated adapter protein (LRSAM1, NDP52 and p62)-mediated recognition of intracellular bacteria and through the formation of autophagolysosomes. Second, we demonstrated that BCA could enhance the release of MΦ extracellular traps (METs) to remove extracellular Salmonella also via the AMPK/ULK1/mTOR pathway, not through reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway. Furtherly, in a Salmonella-infected mouse model, BCA treatment increased intra- and extracellular bactericidal activity through the strengthening autophagy and MET production, respectively, in peritoneal MΦ, liver and spleen tissue. Additionally, our findings showed that BCA downregulated SPI-1 (Salmonella pathogenicity island 1) expression during Salmonella infection in vitro and in vivo to reverse the MΦ M2 polarization, which was different from the MΦ M1 phenotype caused by most of bacteria infection. Together, these findings suggest that BCA has an immunomodulatory effect on Salmonella-infected host cells and enhances their bactericidal activity in vitro and in vivo through autophagy, extracellular traps and regulation of MΦ polarization

The TRAPs From Microglial Vesicles Protect Against Listeria Infection in the CNS

Previous studies have demonstrated that T cells and microglia could fight against cerebral Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria); however, their synergistic anti-Listeria mechanisms remain unknown. Following Listeria infection in a culture system, we found that microglia, but not nerve cells, could release extracellular traps (ETs) which originated from microglial vesicles. Specific inhibitor analysis showed that extracellular DNA (eDNA), matrix metallopeptidases (MMP9 and MMP12), citrullinated histone H3, and peptidyl arginine deiminase 2 were the major components of microglial ETs (MiETs) and were also the components of vesicles. Systematic analysis indicated that Listeria-induced MiETs were cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS)- and NADPH oxidase (NOX)-dependent and involved ERK. MiETs were exhibited in Listeria-infected mouse brain and might protected against Listeria infection via bacterial killing in a mouse meningitis model, and MiETs existed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from Listeria meningitis patients in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, interferon-γ could induce MiET formation in Listeria-infected microglia in vitro that was mediated by NOX, and there was a positive relationship between the elevated level of IFN-γ and eDNA and nucleosomes in the brain homogenates and CSF of Listeria meningitis model mice and in the CSF before treatment in clinical Listeria meningitis patients. Together, this is the first report of MiET formation, these findings pave the way for deeper exploration of the innate immune response to pathogens in CNS

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on themodel, the combined result excludes a top squarkmass up to 1325 GeV for amassless neutralino, and a neutralinomass up to 700 GeV for a top squarkmass of 1150 GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295 GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100 GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30 GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420 GeV