4,122 research outputs found
Evolution of replication efficiency following infection with a molecularly cloned feline immunodeficiency virus of low virulence
The development of an effective vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus is considered to be the most practicable means of controlling the advancing global AIDS epidemic. Studies with the domestic cat have demonstrated that vaccinal immunity to infection can be induced against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV); however, protection is largely restricted to laboratory strains of FIV and does not extend to primary strains of the virus. We compared the pathogenicity of two prototypic vaccine challenge strains of FIV derived from molecular clones; the laboratory strain PET<sub>F14</sub> and the primary strain GL8<sub>414</sub>. PET<sub>F14</sub> established a low viral load and had no effect on CD4<sup>+</sup>- or CD8<sup>+</sup>- lymphocyte subsets. In contrast, GL8<sub>414</sub> established a high viral load and induced a significant reduction in the ratio of CD4<sup>+</sup> to CD8<sup>+</sup> lymphocytes by 15 weeks postinfection, suggesting that PET<sub>F14</sub> may be a low-virulence-challenge virus. However, during long-term monitoring of the PET<sub>F14</sub>-infected cats, we observed the emergence of variant viruses in two of three cats. Concomitant with the appearance of the variant viruses, designated 627<sub>W135</sub> and 628<sub>W135</sub>, we observed an expansion of CD8<sup>+</sup>-lymphocyte subpopulations expressing reduced CD8 ß-chain, a phenotype consistent with activation. The variant viruses both carried mutations that reduced the net charge of the V3 loop (K409Q and K409E), giving rise to a reduced ability of the Env proteins to both induce fusion and to establish productive infection in CXCR4-expressing cells. Further, following subsequent challenge of naïve cats with the mutant viruses, the viruses established higher viral loads and induced more marked alterations in CD8<sup>+</sup>-lymphocyte subpopulations than did the parent F14 strain of virus, suggesting that the E409K mutation in the PET<sub>F14</sub> strain contributes to the attenuation of the virus
Three-dimensional bulk band dispersion in polar BiTeI with giant Rashba-type spin splitting
In layered polar semiconductor BiTeI, giant Rashba-type spin-split band
dispersions show up due to the crystal structure asymmetry and the strong
spin-orbit interaction. Here we investigate the 3-dimensional (3D) bulk band
structures of BiTeI using the bulk-sensitive -dependent soft x-ray angle
resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SX-ARPES). The obtained band structure is
shown to be well reproducible by the first-principles calculations, with huge
spin splittings of meV at the conduction-band-minimum and
valence-band-maximum located in the plane. It provides the first
direct experimental evidence of the 3D Rashba-type spin splitting in a bulk
compound.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Strongly spin-orbit coupled two-dimensional electron gas emerging near the surface of polar semiconductors
We investigate the two-dimensional (2D) highly spin-polarized electron
accumulation layers commonly appearing near the surface of n-type polar
semiconductors BiTeX (X = I, Br, and Cl) by angular-resolved photoemission
spectroscopy. Due to the polarity and the strong spin-orbit interaction built
in the bulk atomic configurations, the quantized conduction-band subbands show
giant Rashba-type spin-splitting. The characteristic 2D confinement effect is
clearly observed also in the valence-bands down to the binding energy of 4 eV.
The X-dependent Rashba spin-orbit coupling is directly estimated from the
observed spin-split subbands, which roughly scales with the inverse of the
band-gap size in BiTeX.Comment: 15 pages 4 figure
Co-NMR Knight Shift of NaxCoO2 \dot yH2O Studied in Both Superconducting Regions of the Tc-nuQ3 Phase Diagram Divided by the Nonsuperconducting Phase
In the temperature (T)-nuQ3 phase diagram of NaxCoO2 \dot yH2O, there exist
two superconducting regions of nuQ3 separated by the nonsuperconducting region,
where nuQ3 is usually estimated from the peak position of the 59Co-NQR spectra
of the 5/2-7/2 transition and well-approximated here as nuQ3~3nuQ,nuQ being the
interaction energy between the nuclear quadrupole moment and the electric field
gradient. We have carried out measurements of the 59Co-NMR Knight shift (K) for
a single crystal in the higher-nuQ3 superconducting phase and found that K
begins to decrease with decreasing T at Tc for both magnetic field directions
parallel and perpendicular to CoO2-planes. The result indicates together with
the previous ones that the superconducting pairs are in the spin-singlet state
in both phases, excluding the possibility of the spin-triplet superconductivity
in this phase diagram. The superconductivity of this system spreads over the
wide nuQ3 regions, but is suppressed in the narrow region located at the middle
point of the region possibly due to charge instability.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis complicated by reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome
The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.ArticleCLINICAL RHEUMATOLOGY. 26(10): 1761-1763 (2007)journal articl
Lupus erythematosus profundus (lupus panniculitis) induced by interferon-beta in a multiple sclerosis patient
ArticleJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE. 14(10): 997-1000 (2007)journal articl
A Possible Phase Transition in beta-pyrochlore Compounds
We investigate a lattice of interacting anharmonic oscillators by using a
mean field theory and exact diagonalization. We construct an effective
five-state hopping model with intersite repulsions as a model for
beta-pyrochlore AOs_2O_6(A=K, Rb or Cs). We obtain the first order phase
transition line from large to small oscillation amplitude phases as temperature
decreases. We also discuss the possibility of a phase with local electric
polarizations. Our theory can explain the origin of the mysterious first order
transition in KOs_2O_6.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp
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