101,648 research outputs found
Letter, [Author unclear] to Paulina T. Merritt
No full textHandwritten letter to Paulina Merritt from an unknown author, October 1, 1876.
Weakest-link scaling and extreme events in finite-sized systems
No full textWeakest-link scaling is used in the reliability analysis of complex systems. It is characterized by the extensivity of the hazard function instead of the entropy. The Weibull distribution is the archetypical example of weakest-link scaling, and it describes variables such as the fracture strength of brittle materials, maximal annual rainfall, wind speed and earthquake return times. We investigate two new distributions that exhibit weakest-link scaling, i.e., a Weibull generalization known as the κ-Weibull and a modified gamma probability function that we propose herein. We show that in contrast with the Weibull and the modified gamma, the hazard function of the κ -Weibull is non-extensive, which is a signature of inter-dependence between the links. We also investigate the impact of heterogeneous links, modeled by means of a stochastic Weibull scale parameter, on the observed probability distributio
Liquid crystal on silicon technology for integrated guided wave devices
No full textLiquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) technology has been developed in the past decade for high resolution, fast switching pixellated devices either for optical interconnections or for display applications [1][2]. In this communication, we propose LCoS technology for both linear and nonlinear integrated optic devices, in which the driving electronics can be also included on the same substrate. We describe the development of a novel process to fabricate LCoS channel waveguides made of SiO2/Si grooves filled with LC. Preliminary characterization of LCoS waveguides at both visible and optical communication wavelengths will be presented. Propagation of light launched at one end of the waveguide by butt coupling was observed for a channel length of 2 cm. The signal at the output of the waveguide could be also coupled to a second optical fiber. Both in theory and in the experiment the guided light showed a good optical confinement. The simulated output profile by means of beam propagation method was found to be very similar to the one grabbed at the output of the waveguide.
It was found that only one state of input polarization could fully propagate through the whole length of the waveguide due to the contribution the LC extraordinary refractive index. The orthogonal light polarization state, for which the optical electric field “sees” only the lower LC refractive index was suppressed by more than 20 dB. This result can be explained by means of the observation of the sample under a polarized microscope of a pre-tilt angle of the molecules with respect to the propagation direction along the LC optical channel.
References
[1] Crossland, W. A., Manolis, I. G., Redmond, M. M., Tan, K. L., Wilkinson, T. D., Holmes, M. J., Parker, T. R., Chu, H. H., Croucher, J., Handerek, V. A., Warr, S. T., Robertson, B.,
Bonas, I. G., Franklin, R., Stace, C., White, H. J., Woolley R. A., & Henshall, G.
Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 18, No. 12, (2000) pp. 1845–1853.
[2] d’Alessandro A. and Asquini R., Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol. 398, (2003), pp. 207-221
Handwritten biographical information on Paulina T. McClung Merritt
No full textA handwritten biography of Paulina T. McClung Merritt by an unknown author, 1892.
Heterogeneous and tissue-specific regulation of effector T cell responses by IFN-gamma during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection.
No full textIFN-γ and T cells are both required for the development of experimental cerebral malaria during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection. Surprisingly, however, the role of IFN-γ in shaping the effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell response during this infection has not been examined in detail. To address this, we have compared the effector T cell responses in wild-type and IFN-γ(-/-) mice during P. berghei ANKA infection. The expansion of splenic CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells during P. berghei ANKA infection was unaffected by the absence of IFN-γ, but the contraction phase of the T cell response was significantly attenuated. Splenic T cell activation and effector function were essentially normal in IFN-γ(-/-) mice; however, the migration to, and accumulation of, effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the lung, liver, and brain was altered in IFN-γ(-/-) mice. Interestingly, activation and accumulation of T cells in various nonlymphoid organs was differently affected by lack of IFN-γ, suggesting that IFN-γ influences T cell effector function to varying levels in different anatomical locations. Importantly, control of splenic T cell numbers during P. berghei ANKA infection depended on active IFN-γ-dependent environmental signals--leading to T cell apoptosis--rather than upon intrinsic alterations in T cell programming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to fully investigate the role of IFN-γ in modulating T cell function during P. berghei ANKA infection and reveals that IFN-γ is required for efficient contraction of the pool of activated T cells
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Pelevin’s Trinity in the novel “t”: author – protagonist – reader
No full textThe article attempts to interpret Pelevin's artistic strategy in the novel "T" by exploring its subject organization and addressing the key problems of the author, the protagonist, and the reader as they are seen by the researcher. The article analyzes the peculiarities of constructing the narrative reality in the novel "T", and goes on to discuss Pelevin's philosophic models of the development of the humankind, and the emergence of his new anthropology
Measuring industry-science links through inventor-author relations: A profiling method
No full textIn this pilot study we examine the performance of text-based profiling in recovering a set of validated inventor-author links. In a first step we match patents and publications solely based on their similarity in content. Next, we compare inventor and author names on the highest ranked matches for the occurrence of name matches. Finally, we compare these candidate matches with the names listed in a validated set of inventor-author names. Our text-based profile methodology performs significantly better than a random matching of patents and publications, suggesting that text-based profiling is a valuable complementary tool to the name searches used in previous studies.innovation; industry-science links; text-based profiling;
Wave turbulence of a rotating array of quantized vortices in the T → 0 temperature limit
No full textThe dynamics of quantized vortices in the zero temperature limit is currently of great interest, particularly in the case of the Fermi superfluid He-B. Here we study wave turbulence, generated by the librating motion of a rotating cylindrical container filled with He-B, in the limit of vanishing viscous forces at temperatures . The polarization of the quantized vortices with respect to the axis of rotation is measured using non-invasive NMR techniques. We observe a decrease of the polarization when the librating motion is started, and a two-stage relaxation process when the modulation of the rotation velocity is stopped. The first relaxation process is associated with the dissipation of large-scale flow stored in inertial waves and the solid body rotation of the vortex array. From the decay of these energy reservoirs we determine the rate of energy dissipation of large-scale flow. The later second process is related to the relaxation of Kelvin waves on individual vortices. This process is monitored by the recovery of the polarization. The existence of a Kelvin wave cascade at the lowest temperatures is currently a central open question. We supply some evidence for the cascade
DNA fusion gene vaccination mobilizes effective anti-leukemic cytotoxic T lymphocytes from a tolerized repertoire
No full textThe majority of known human tumor-associated antigens derive from non-mutated self proteins. T cell tolerance, essential to prevent autoimmunity, must therefore be cautiously circumvented to generate cytotoxic T cell responses against these targets. Our strategy uses DNA fusion vaccines to activate high levels of peptide-specific CTL. Key foreign sequences from tetanus toxin activate tolerance-breaking CD4+ T cell help. Candidate MHC class Ibinding tumor peptide sequences are fused to the C terminus for optimal processing and presentation. To model performance against a leukemia-associated antigen in a tolerized setting, we constructed a fusion vaccine encoding an immunodominant CTL epitopederived from Friend murine leukemia virus gag protein (FMuLVgag) and vaccinated tolerant FMuLVgag-transgenic (gag-Tg) mice. Vaccination with the construct induced epitopespecificIFN-c-producing CD8+ T cells in normal and gag-Tg mice. The frequency and avidity of activated cells were reduced in gag-Tg mice, and no autoimmune injury resulted. However, these CD8+ T cells did exhibit gag-specific cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Also, epitope-specific CTL killed FBL-3 leukemia cells expressing endogenous FMuLVgag antigen and protected against leukemia challenge in vivo. These results demonstrate a simple strategy to engage anti-microbial T cell help to activate epitope-specific polyclonal CD8+ T cell responses from a residual tolerized repertoire
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