16,904 research outputs found
Recognition of viral glycoproteins by influenza A-specific cross- reactive cytolytic T lymphocytes
Two populations of cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) generated after influenza A virus infection can be distinguished into one with specificity for the sensitizing hemagglutinin type and a second with cross-reactivity for antigens induced by other type-A influenza viruses. The molecules carrying the antigenic determinants recognized by the cross-reactive CTL were studied. In L-929 cells abortively infected with fowl plague virus, matrix (M) protein synthesis is specifically inhibited, whereas the envelope glycoproteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, are synthesized and incorporated into the plasma membrane. These target cells were lysed by cross-reactive CTL. The envelope proteins of type A/Victoria virus were separated from the other virion components and reconstituted into lipid vesicles that lacked M protein that subsequently were used to prepare artificial target cells. Target-cell formation with vesicles was achieved by addition of fusion-active Sendai virus. These artificial target cells were also susceptible to lysis by cross-reactive CTL. In contrast to previous observations that suggested that the M protein of influenza viruses is recognized by these effector cells, we present evidence that the antigencic determinants induced by the viral glycoproteins are recognized
Radiative Corrections to Multi-Level Mollow-Type Spectra
This paper is concerned with two rather basic phenomena: the incoherent
fluorescence spectrum of an atom driven by an intense laser field and the
coupling of the atom to the (empty) modes of the radiation field. The sum of
the many-photon processes gives rise to the inelastic part of the atomic
fluorescence, which, for a two-level system, has a well-known characteristic
three-peak structure known as the Mollow spectrum. From a theoretical point of
view, the Mollow spectrum finds a natural interpretation in terms of
transitions among laser-dressed states which are the energy eigenstates of a
second-quantized two-level system strongly coupled to a driving laser field. As
recently shown, the quasi-energies of the laser-dressed states receive
radiative corrections which are nontrivially different from the results which
one would expect from an investigation of the coupling of the bare states to
the vacuum modes. In this article, we briefly review the basic elements
required for the analysis of the dynamic radiative corrections, and we
generalize the treatment of the radiative corrections to the incoherent part of
the steady-state fluorescence to a three-level system consisting of 1S, 3P and
2S states.Comment: Dedicated to Prof. H. Walther on the occasion of his 70th birthda
Integration of a virus membrane protein into the lipid bilayer of target cells as a prerequisite for immune cytolysis
Structural requirements for membrane antigens on target cells to mediate immune cytolysis were studied in a model system with purified membrane proteins from Semliki Forest virus (SFV). These SFV spike proteins were isolated in the form of detergent- and lipid-free protein micelles (29S complexes) or, after reconstitution into lipid vesicles, in the form of virosomes. Both the 29S complexes and the virosomes were found to bind well to murine tumor cells (P815 or Eb). When these cells, however, were used as target cells in complement-dependent lysis or in antibody-dependent cell- mediated cytotoxicity assays in the presence of anti-SFV serum, they were not lysed, although they effectively bound the antibody and consumed complement. The same tumor cells infected with SFV served as positive controls in both assays.
Different results were obtained when inactivated Sendai virus was added as a fusion reagent to the cells coated with either virosomes or 29S complexes. Under these conditions the virosome-coated cells became susceptible to SFV- specific lysis, whereas the 29S complex-coated cells remained resistant. Evidence that the susceptibility to lysis ofvirosome-coated cells was dependent on active fusion and, therefore, integration of the viral antigens into the lipid bilayer of the target cells was derived from control experiments with enzyme-treated Sendai virus preparations.
The 29S complexes and the virosomes partially and selectively blocked the target cell lysis by anti-H-2 sera but not by anti-non-H-2 sera confirming our previous finding that major histocompatibility antigens serve as receptors for SFV. The general significance of these findings for mechanisms of immune cytolysis is dicussed
Virtual Resonant States in Two-Photon Decay Processes: Lower-Order Terms, Subtractions, and Physical Interpretations
We investigate the two-photon decay rate of a highly excited atomic state
which can decay to bound states of lower energy via cascade processes. We show
that a naive treatment of the process, based on the introduction of
phenomenological decay rates for the intermediate, resonant states, leads to
lower-order terms which need to be subtracted in order to obtain the coherent
two-photon correction to the decay rate. The sum of the lower-order terms is
exactly equal to the one-photon decay rate of the initial state, provided the
naive two-photon decay rates are summed over all available two-photon channels.
A quantum electrodynamics (QED) treatment of the problem leads to an
"automatic" subtraction of the lower-order terms.Comment: 8 pages, RevTe
Phonon-dressed Mollow triplet in the regime of cavity-QED
We study the resonance fluorescence spectra of a driven quantum dot placed
inside a high semiconductor cavity and interacting with an acoustic phonon
bath. The dynamics is calculated using a time-convolutionless master equation
obtained in the polaron frame. We demonstrate pronounced spectral broadening of
the Mollow sidebands through cavity-emission which, for small cavity-coupling
rates, increases quadratically with the Rabi frequency. However, for larger
cavity coupling rates, this broadening dependence is found to be more complex.
This field-dependent Mollow triplet broadening is primarily a consequence of
the triplet peaks sampling different parts of the asymmetric phonon bath, and
agrees directly with recent experiments with semiconductor micropillars. The
influence from the detuned cavity photon bath and multi-photon effects is shown
to play a qualitatively important role on the fluorescence spectra.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Optimizing Replica Exchange Moves For Molecular Dynamics
In this short note we sketch the statistical physics framework of the replica
exchange technique when applied to molecular dynamics simulations. In
particular, we draw attention to generalized move sets that allow a variety of
optimizations as well as new applications of the method.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; revised version (1 figure added), PRE in pres
Final spins from the merger of precessing binary black holes
The inspiral of binary black holes is governed by gravitational radiation
reaction at binary separations r < 1000 M, yet it is too computationally
expensive to begin numerical-relativity simulations with initial separations r
> 10 M. Fortunately, binary evolution between these separations is well
described by post-Newtonian equations of motion. We examine how this
post-Newtonian evolution affects the distribution of spin orientations at
separations r ~ 10 M where numerical-relativity simulations typically begin.
Although isotropic spin distributions at r ~ 1000 M remain isotropic at r ~ 10
M, distributions that are initially partially aligned with the orbital angular
momentum can be significantly distorted during the post-Newtonian inspiral.
Spin precession tends to align (anti-align) the binary black hole spins with
each other if the spin of the more massive black hole is initially partially
aligned (anti-aligned) with the orbital angular momentum, thus increasing
(decreasing) the average final spin. Spin precession is stronger for
comparable-mass binaries, and could produce significant spin alignment before
merger for both supermassive and stellar-mass black hole binaries. We also
point out that precession induces an intrinsic accuracy limitation (< 0.03 in
the dimensionless spin magnitude, < 20 degrees in the direction) in predicting
the final spin resulting from the merger of widely separated binaries.Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, new PN terms, submitted to PR
- …