Role of exosomes in B cell development and antibodies class switching recombination

Exosomes are nanoparticles being released by various types of cells and they often carry functional cargo, including RNA and proteins, and provide a means to shuttle these cargos between cells. Emerging evidence suggest that exosomes are vital player in process such as intercellular communication and indirect gene regulation through protein and non-coding RNA cargo. The ability of efficient and secure exosome-mediated molecules transfers leads to a novel avenue to understand immune response regulation towards diseases and cancers. Several research groups have proven that exosomes are involved in intercellular communication between dendritic cells, T cells and B cells. Nonetheless, B-to-B cell communication and regulation of adaptive immune response via exosomal pathway haven’t been well studied. In this thesis, we investigated the role of exosomes in B cell development and antibody class switching recombination (CSR), an important process in adaptive immune response where mature B cells respond to antigens and secret classes of antibodies in order to diversify antibodies’ effector function. We observed CSR impairment under the depletion of bovine exosomes in cell medium and endogenous exosomes derived from CH12, a murine B lymphoma cell line.. Interestingly, complement of exosomes from naïve CH12 appear to be suppressive for CSR whilst exosomes from activated CH12 show a facilitating effect. Preliminary investigation in exosomal RNA showed selective packaging of exosomal cargo during CSR and such findings could provide a more accurate direction in understanding exosome-mediated regulation in CSR

Experimental verification and practical application of torquewhirl theory of rotordynamic instability

A theory developed by Vance in 1978 to explain the destabilizing effect of torque on a whirling rotor was experimentally verified. The measurements made on a specially designed test apparatus are described. New computer models were also developed to investigate the effect of torque on rotordynamic stability of multidisk flexible rotor bearing systems. The effect of torque was found to be most pronounced when the system is already marginally stable from other influences. The modifications required to include torque in a typical shaft transfer matrix are described, and results are shown which identify the type of rotor design most sensitive to load torque

Model Parametric Studies of the Earthquake Response of the Embankment Dam

Several centrifuge model dams were tested with the conditions similar to those of O\u27Neill Forebay Dam, California to examine the structural behavior under seismic excitation. A few experiments were carried out to study the performance of the dam, whose geometry was still the same as O\u27Neill Dam, but the soil properties were altered by adding some gravel or increasing the compaction density. The results of either test clearly demonstrated a stiffer response to seismic excitation than the model with the original prototype material properties. Characteristics of O\u27Neil! Forebay Dam with different structural modifications were examined. These included construction of a berm at the downstream side of the model dam, which has been proposed and designed recently for the prototype dam by the Bureau of Reclamation personnel as a part of dam rehabilitation program to strengthen the structure, as well as addition of a rip-rap layer on downstream. The earthquake simulation tests conducted on these model dams with the various structural modifications suggested that the performance of the dam with any of above-mentioned reinforcement was somewhat stiffer than that of the current O\u27Neill Dam configuration. The response of the structure under various excitation intensities was also examined by increasing the magnitude of the input excitation but keeping the same frequency contents. Some models were tested with the embankment overlaying on a rigid base, while the others included an alluvium foundation underneath the dam

Multicast source mobility support for regenerative satellite networks

YesSatellite communications provides an effective solution to the ever increasing demand for mobile and ubiquitous communications especially in areas where terrestrial communication infrastructure is not present. IP multicasting is a bandwidth saving technology which could become an indispensable means of group communication over satellites since it can utilise the scarce and expensive satellite resources in an efficient way. In Source-Specific Multicast (SSM) the data is sent through a multicast tree from the source to all the receivers. However, if a source is a mobile node moving from one network to another, then special mechanisms are required to make sure this multicast tree does not break. Until now, while many research efforts have been made to provide IP multicast for the mobile nodes, they are mainly focused on terrestrial networks. Unfortunately, the terrestrial mobile multicast schemes are not directly applicable in a satellite environment. This paper, proposes a new mechanism to support multicast source mobility in SSM based applications for a mesh multi-beam satellite network with receivers both within the satellite network and in the Internet. In the proposed mechanism, the SSM receivers continue to receive multicast traffic from the mobile source despite the fact that the IP address of the source keeps on changing as it changes its point of attachment from one satellite gateway (GW) to another. The proposed scheme is evaluated and the results compared with the mobile IP home subscription (MIP HS)-based approach. The results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the MIP HS-based approach in terms of signalling cost and packet delivery cost

IP multicast receiver mobility support using PMIPv6 in a global satellite network

YesA new generation of satellite systems that support regenerative on-board processors (OBPs) and multiple spot beam technology have opened new and efficient possibilities of implementing IP multicast communication over satellites. These new features have widened the scope of satellite-based applications and also enable satellite operators to efficiently utilize their allocated bandwidth resources. This makes it possible to provide cost effective satellite network services. IP multicast is a network layer protocol designed for group communication to save bandwidth resources and reduce processing overhead on the source side. The inherent broadcast nature of satellites, their global coverage (air, land, and sea), and direct access to a large number of subscribers imply satellites have unrivalled advantages in supporting IP multicast applications. IP mobility support in general and IP mobile multicast support in particular on mobile satellite terminals like the ones mounted on long haul flights, maritime vessels, continental trains, etc., still remain big challenges that have received very little attention from the research community. This paper proposes how Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6)-based IP multicast mobility support defined for terrestrial networks can be adopted and used to support IP mobile multicast in future satellite networks, taking cognizance of the trend in the evolution of satellite communications

Next Generation Neutron Detection for Next Generation Nuclear Reactors

Track I: Power GenerationIncludes audio file (31 min.)As the demand for nuclear energy increases worldwide, and MO reactors come online, so does the availability of spent fuel that may be used as a medium of terror. That is, fuel for and waste or byproducts from fissile material refining and nuclear reactors (e.g. plutonium) pose a serious threat with respect to radiological dispersal and nuclear bomb detonation. Radiological dispersal can include fallout by means of water or atmospheric transport (e.g., dumping waste in a river) while fissile trafficking can include the transport of plutonium across a border by seaport entry. In order to safely increase the use of nuclear energy in Missouri, sensitive techniques for nuclear detection must be developed. Presently available commercial detectors are not sensitive enough to detect even large (~3kg) quantities of weapons grade plutonium that are hidden in a barrel of water; our borders are effectively open to critical mass sized plutonium transport. Profs. Caruso, Ching and Kruger (UMKC Physics) are developing detectors capable of a ten times increase in detection sensitivity over existing commercial detectors that will provide a critical component to the future Missouri nuclear safeguarding infrastructure

Structural Relationship among Loss Aversion, Emotion, and Sport Consumption: The Case of NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracketology

The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, known to fans as March Madness, is one of the most popular annual sporting events in the United States. Despite its economic impact on the sports industry, relative few studies have examined phenomena surrounding the March Madness bracket. Some (e.g., Kaplan &Garstka, 2001; McCrea &Hirt, 2009) have focused on how to make accurate predictions for the tournament. However, sports marketers need to understand why and how participants make decisions when filling out their brackets, and no studies have investigated this behavior. To fill this void, the current project was conducted to explain the decision-making process of NCAA tournament bracket participants based on loss aversion theory. Two studies were conducted. Study 1(N= 258) was to test participants’ loss aversion tendency by adopting Kahneman and Tversky’s (1979) value function. Participants were grouped according to four win-loss scenarios, and the loss aversion tendency was found. The purpose of study 2 (N= 223) was to develop a framework for the emotional loss aversion tendency on the decision to choose an opposing team over a favorite team in the high likelihood of a negative game outcome between the highly identified fans and the lower identified fans