38 research outputs found
A Restricted Subset of Dendritic Cells Captures Airborne Antigens and Remains Able to Activate Specific T Cells Long after Antigen Exposure
AbstractMice sensitized for a Th2 response to Leishmania LACK antigen developed allergic airway inflammation upon exposure to LACK aerosol. Using multimers of I-Ad molecules bound to a LACK peptide as probes, we tracked the migration of LACK-specific Th2 cells to the airways. Elevated numbers of LACK-specific Th2 cells remained in the airways for 5 weeks after the last aerosol. Substantial numbers of DC presenting LACK peptides were found in the airways, but not in other compartments, for up to 8 weeks after antigen exposure. These LACK-presenting airway DC expressed CD11c and CD11b as well as high levels of surface molecules involved in uptake and costimulation. Taken together, our results may explain the chronic Th2 airway inflammation characteristic of allergic asthma
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Scaling in plasticity-induced cell-boundary microstructure: Fragmentation and rotational diffusion
We develop a simple computational model for cell-boundary evolution in plastic deformation. We study the cell-boundary size distribution and cell-boundary misorientation distribution that experimentally have been found to have scaling forms that are largely material independent. The cell division acts as a source term in the misorientation distribution which significantly alters the scaling form, giving it a linear slope at small misori- entation angles as observed in the experiments. We compare the results of our simulation with two closely related exactly solvable models that exhibit scaling behavior at late times: i fragmentation theory and ii a random walk in rotation space with a source term. We find that the scaling exponents in our simulation agree with those of the theories, and that the scaling collapses obey the same equations, but that the shape of the scaling functions depends upon the methods used to measure sizes and to weight averages and histograms.Physic
Characterization of the Positivity of the Density Matrix in Terms of the Coherence Vector Representation
A parameterization of the density operator, a coherence vector
representation, which uses a basis of orthogonal, traceless, Hermitian matrices
is discussed. Using this parameterization we find the region of permissible
vectors which represent a density operator. The inequalities which specify the
region are shown to involve the Casimir invariants of the group. In particular
cases, this allows the determination of degeneracies in the spectrum of the
operator. The identification of the Casimir invariants also provides a method
of constructing quantities which are invariant under {\it local} unitary
operations. Several examples are given which illustrate the constraints
provided by the positivity requirements and the utility of the coherence vector
parameterization.Comment: significantly rewritten and submitted for publicatio
Scaling in Plasticity-Induced Cell-Boundary Microstructure: Fragmentation and Rotational Diffusion
We develop a simple computational model for cell boundary evolution in
plastic deformation. We study the cell boundary size distribution and cell
boundary misorientation distribution that experimentally have been found to
have scaling forms that are largely material independent. The cell division
acts as a source term in the misorientation distribution which significantly
alters the scaling form, giving it a linear slope at small misorientation
angles as observed in the experiments. We compare the results of our simulation
to two closely related exactly solvable models which exhibit scaling behavior
at late times: (i) fragmentation theory and (ii) a random walk in rotation
space with a source term. We find that the scaling exponents in our simulation
agree with those of the theories, and that the scaling collapses obey the same
equations, but that the shape of the scaling functions depend upon the methods
used to measure sizes and to weight averages and histograms
Grain boundary energies and cohesive strength as a function of geometry
Cohesive laws are stress-strain curves used in finite element calculations to
describe the debonding of interfaces such as grain boundaries. It would be
convenient to describe grain boundary cohesive laws as a function of the
parameters needed to describe the grain boundary geometry; two parameters in 2D
and 5 parameters in 3D. However, we find that the cohesive law is not a smooth
function of these parameters. In fact, it is discontinuous at geometries for
which the two grains have repeat distances that are rational with respect to
one another. Using atomistic simulations, we extract grain boundary energies
and cohesive laws of grain boundary fracture in 2D with a Lennard-Jones
potential for all possible geometries which can be simulated within periodic
boundary conditions with a maximum box size. We introduce a model where grain
boundaries are represented as high symmetry boundaries decorated by extra
dislocations. Using it, we develop a functional form for the symmetric grain
boundary energies, which have cusps at all high symmetry angles. We also find
the asymptotic form of the fracture toughness near the discontinuities at high
symmetry grain boundaries using our dislocation decoration model.Comment: 12 pages, 19 figures, changed titl
Distributed Entanglement
Consider three qubits A, B, and C which may be entangled with each other. We
show that there is a trade-off between A's entanglement with B and its
entanglement with C. This relation is expressed in terms of a measure of
entanglement called the "tangle," which is related to the entanglement of
formation. Specifically, we show that the tangle between A and B, plus the
tangle between A and C, cannot be greater than the tangle between A and the
pair BC. This inequality is as strong as it could be, in the sense that for any
values of the tangles satisfying the corresponding equality, one can find a
quantum state consistent with those values. Further exploration of this result
leads to a definition of the "three-way tangle" of the system, which is
invariant under permutations of the qubits.Comment: 13 pages LaTeX; references added, derivation of Eq. (11) simplifie
Thromboxane A2 is a key regulator of pathogenesis during Trypanosoma cruzi infection
Chagas' disease is caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. We report that infected, but not uninfected, human endothelial cells (ECs) released thromboxane A2 (TXA2). Physical chromatography and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry revealed that TXA2 is the predominant eicosanoid present in all life stages of T. cruzi. Parasite-derived TXA2 accounts for up to 90% of the circulating levels of TXA2 in infected wild-type mice, and perturbs host physiology. Mice in which the gene for the TXA2 receptor (TP) has been deleted, exhibited higher mortality and more severe cardiac pathology and parasitism (fourfold) than WT mice after infection. Conversely, deletion of the TXA2 synthase gene had no effect on survival or disease severity. TP expression on somatic cells, but not cells involved in either acquired or innate immunity, was the primary determinant of disease progression. The higher intracellular parasitism observed in TP-null ECs was ablated upon restoration of TP expression. We conclude that the host response to parasite-derived TXA2 in T. cruzi infection is possibly an important determinant of mortality and parasitism. A deeper understanding of the role of TXA2 may result in novel therapeutic targets for a disease with limited treatment options
Assembly and architecture of precursor nodes during fission yeast cytokinesis
Mapping of fission yeast precursor node interaction modules and assembly reveals important steps in contractile ring assembly