10,368 research outputs found
Singlet charge 2\/3 quark hiding the top: Tevatron and LEP implications
No full textIf c and t quarks are strongly mixed with a weak singlet charge 2/3 quark, BR(t\to \ell\nu + X) could be suppressed via the t\to cH^0 mode thereby the top quark could still hide below M_W, whereas the heavy quark signal observed at the Tevatron is due to the dominantly singlet quark Q. This may occur without affecting the small m_c value. Demanding m_Q \simeq 175 GeV and m_t \ltap M_W, we find that BR(t\to \ell\nu + X) cannot be too suppressed. The heavy quark Q decays via W,\ H, and Z bosons. The latter can lead to b-tagged Z + 4 jet events, while the strong c--Q mixing is reflected in sizable Q\to sW fraction. Z\to t\bar c decay occurs at tree level and may be at the 10^{-3} order, leading to the signature of Z\to \ell\nu b\bar c, all isolated and with large p_T, at 10^{-5} order.If and quarks are strongly mixed with a weak singlet charge quark, could be suppressed via the mode, thereby the top quark could still hide below , whereas the heavy quark signal observed at the Tevatron is due to the dominantly singlet quark . This may occur without affecting the small value. Demanding GeV and m_t \ltap M_W, we find that cannot be too suppressed. The heavy quark decays via , and bosons. The latter can lead to -tagged jet events, while the strong -- mixing is reflected in sizable fraction. decay occurs at tree level and may be at the order, leading to the signature of , all isolated and with large , at order
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
Manipulating light at the nanoscale with cooperative plasmonic-photonic hybridization
No full textAuthor requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemU of I OnlyThe focus of this thesis is to understand the highly cooperative hybridization between plasmonic and photonic optical resonances, and utilize it to localize, exploit and boost the interaction of light and molecules. At its heart is the nanoparticle on photonic crystal (NPoPC) construct, where metal NPs are placed on the surface of a resonant frequency matched dielectric photonic crystal slab.
The delocalized photonic crystal guided resonance (PCGR) traps light for an extended lifetime, and the elevated optical field is further confined into nanoscale volumes via surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in metal NPs. The antenna--cavity coupling produces a large field enhancement reaching 100,000 localized at the NPs, which has a narrow resonance linewidth (Q-factor~ 300) and a wide spectral tuning range (visible to near infrared).
Mode hybridization leads to dramatic enhancements of photophysics and photochemical process of a nearby molecule, which is demonstrated in two examples. First, compared to a solitary NP, the PCGR-coupled NP can further amplify the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of molecules by two orders of magnitude. Second, through an enhanced excitation of energetic charge carriers, the PCGR-coupled NPs can efficiently transfer energy into nearby molecules and catalyze their chemical reactions at a higher rate.
The synergy between two polar opposite types of nanophotonic resonant elements achieved in the NPoPC is unique. This work offers important physical insights on bridging the plasmonics and photonics realms, and opens up new opportunities in the exploration of novel phenomena such as sensing, nanochemistry, and quantum optics.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2022-05-01The student, Qinglan Huang, accepted the attached license on 2020-03-25 at 10:57.The student, Qinglan Huang, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2020-03-25 at 11:47.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2020-03-26 at 14:51.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #14913 on 2020-08-25 at 17:27:02Made available in DSpace on 2020-08-26T23:51:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Previous issue date: 2020-03-26Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115705
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Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115705
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Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115705
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Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115705
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Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115705
Lift date: 2022-08-26T23:58:55Z
Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD syste
Characterization of defect structures in nanocrystalline materials by X-ray line profile analysis
No full textX-ray line profile analysis is a powerful alternative tool for determining dislocation densities, dislocation type, crystallite and subgrain size and size-distributions, and planar defects, especially the frequency of twin boundaries and stacking faults. The method is especially useful in the case of submicron grain size or nanocrystalline materials, where X-ray line broadening is a well pronounced effect, and the observation of defects with very large density is often not easy by transmission electron microscopy. The fundamentals of X-ray line broadening are summarized in terms of the different qualitative breadth methods, and the more sophisticated and more quantitative whole pattern fitting procedures. The efficiency and practical use of X-ray line profile analysis is shown by discussing its applications to metallic, ceramic, diamond-like and polymer nanomaterials
Streaking and splashing: design of a grazing incidence x-ray streak camera and time-resolved measurements of the structure of water
No full textThe performance of cesium iodide photocathodes has been characterized for use with grazing incidence soft x-rays. The total electron yield and pulsed quantum efficiency has been measured in a reflection geometry as a function of photon energy (100 eV to 1 keV), angle of incidence, and the electric field between the anode and photocathode. The total electron yield and pulsed quantum efficiency increase as the x-ray penetration depth approaches the secondary electron escape depth Unit quantum efficiency in a grazing incidence geometry is demonstrated. A weak electnc-field dependence is observed for the total yield measurements, while no significant dependence is found for the pulsed quantum efficiency. The effect of the pulse height distribution on the detective quantum efficiency is discussed Theoretical predictions agree accurately with expenment.
Demonstrated unit quantum efficiency in a reflection geometry motivated the development of a grazing incidence x-ray streak camera for the Ultrafast X-ray Science beamline, under construction at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA Design considerations particular to synchrotron radiation sources are discussed. An analytical model and particle simulation for a camera incorporating magnetostatic imaging and meander sweep plates is presented. The camera is characterised with the third harmonic from a titanium-sapphire based laser system, 70 ps intrinsic and 150 fs “sliced” x-ray photon pulses from a synchrotron bend magnet source. A grazing incidence x-ray streak camera with an instrument temporal response of 6 ps is demonstrated.
Dynamical changes in the structure factor of liquid water are measured using time-resolved x-ray diffraction techniques with 100 ps resolution. On short time scales, before the system has had time to expand following femtosecond optical excitation, temperatureinduced changes associated with rearrangements of the hydrogen-bonded structure at constant volume are observed. Transient changes in the pair correlation function associated with isochonc heating effects are extracted and interpreted in terms of a decrease in the local tetrahedral ordering in the liquid
Extreme Food-Plant Specialisation in Megabombus Bumblebees as a Product of Long Tongues Combined with Short Nesting Seasons
No full text© 2015 Huang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
IMPROVING SAFTEY PERFORMANCE IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN LIBYA (CASE STUDY : IN TRIPOLI CITY)
No full textAbstract
In both developed and developing countries, the construction industry is considered to
be one of the most significant industries in terms of its impact on health and safety of the
working population. Construction industry is both economically and socially important.
However, the construction industry is also recognized to be the most hazardous. The
objectives of this research are to investigate the safety performance in the construction sites.
The data were collected from the contractors, consultant, and owners by using questionnaire to
evaluate the safety performance in the construction sites. In total, there were 40 questionnaires
which were distributed to respondents, with a response rate of 75%. The results show that
there was still a lack of commitment from the government, the insurance company, the labor
ministry, the owners, consultants, and also the contractors to improving safety performance on
the construction sites.
The suggestion is to improve the safety performance on the construction sites. The
government should follow up the safety performance by visiting the construction sites. The
insurance company should be more active in visiting the construction sites. The owners should
be more active towards the safety by controlling, visiting the process in the construction sites.
The contractors have to train the workers and promote the safety culture and follow up the
safety performance. The consultants should control all the tools in the construction sites to
insure that those tools are safe.
Keywords: Safety performance, construction project, Tripol
Os dois aspectos do Coração XIN : Interpretações sobre o livro de medicina chinesa HUANG DI NEI JING SU WEN LING SHU.
No full textTCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, História.O presente trabalho é uma pesquisa sobre o conceito de Coração XĪN 心 em um dos mais antigos e influentes livros de medicina chinesa atualmente, originalmente dividido em HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG SÙ WÈN 黃帝內經素問 e HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG LÍNG SHŪ 黃帝內經靈樞. Evidências sugerem que as bases do SÙ WÈN 素問 e do LÍNG SHŪ 靈 樞 são um conjunto de textos escritos durante o período dos Estados Combatentes (475-221 AEC), passando pela dinastia Qin (221-206 AEC) e pela dinastia Han (206 AEC-221 DEC), embora as versões mais antigas que chegaram até nós remontem a dinastia Song (970-1279) . No capítulo 8 do HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG SÙ WÈN 黃帝內經素問, o Coração XĪN 心 é apresentado como o Mestre e Soberano do corpo humano, aquele que tudo controla e governa, enquanto no capítulo 8 do HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG LÍNG SHŪ 黃帝內經靈樞, o Coração XĪN 心 é o Vazio do Coração XĪN XŪ 心虛, aquele que não deve a nada se apegar ou rejeitar, morada dos Espíritos SHÉN 神 e nossa ligação primordial com o Céu TIĀN 天. Corroborando a percepção desses dois aspectos, apresento textos clássicos não-médicos como LǍOZI 老子, ZHUĀNGZI 莊子, HUÁINÁNZǏ 淮南子e LǙSHÌ CHŪNQIŪ 呂氏春 秋. Por fim, pretendo mostrar como esse duplo aspecto, que a princípio pode parecer contraditório, está baseado na teoria YĪN YÁNG 陰陽, a realidade última como a união dinâmica dos opostos. Permeando todo o trabalho, pretendo analisar a cosmologia em que a Medicina Chinesa está enraizada, completamente diferente, em muitos aspectos, da cosmologia biomédica moderna e, assim, discuto a própria noção que temos atualmente no Ocidente em relação à saúde e à doença, ao ser humano e à natureza.This paper is a research about the concept of Heart XĪN 心 in one of the most ancient and influential Chinese medicine books that currently exist, originally divided in HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG SÙ WÈN 黃帝內經素問 and HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG LÍNG SHŪ 黃帝內經靈樞. Available evidence suggests that at the basis of SÙ WÈN 素問 and LÍNG SHŪ 靈 樞 is a layer of texts written during the end of the Warring States period (475-221), through Qin dynasty and beginning of Western Han dynasty, although the most ancient versions remained until nowadays are from Song dynasty (960-1279). In HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG SÙ WÈN 黃帝內 經素問 chapter 8, the Heart XĪN 心 is presented as Master and Sovereign of human body, who control and govern all things, while in HUÁNG DÌ NÈI JĪNG LÍNG SHŪ 黃帝內經靈樞 chapter 8, the Heart XĪN 心 is Heart‟s Emptiness XĪN XŪ 心虛, who should not cleave or reject anything, residence of Spirits SHÉN 神 and our primordial connection with Heaven TIĀN 天. In addiction about these two aspects, I present non-medical classical texts as LǍOZI 老子, ZHUĀNGZI 莊子, HUÁINÁNZǏ 淮南子, GUǍNZǏ 管子, XÚNZǏ 荀子, LǙSHÌ CHŪNQIŪ 呂氏春秋 e LǏ JÌ 禮記. Lastly, I pretend show how this double aspect, seems like a contradiction for us westerns, is based on YĪN YÁNG 陰陽 theory, the reality as a dynamic union of opposites. Throughout this work, I pretend to analyze the cosmology that Chinese medicine is rooted on, completely diffent, in several aspects, from modern biomedic cosmology, thereby I also discuss some differences notions between ancient Chinese medicine and we westerns about health and disease, human beign and nature
Stronger inflammatory/cytotoxic T cell response in women identified by microarray analysis
No full textWomen develop chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases like lupus more often than men. The mechanisms causing the increased susceptibility are incompletely understood, although estrogen is believed to contribute. Chronic immune stimulation characterizes many autoimmune disorders. We hypothesized that repeated stimulation may cause a different T cell immune response in women than men. Microarray approaches were used to compare gene expression in T cells from healthy men and women with and without repeated stimulation. Four days following a single stimulation only 25% of the differentially expressed, gender-biased genes were expressed at higher levels in the women. In contrast, following restimulation 72% were more highly expressed in women. Immune response genes were significantly over-represented among the genes upregulated in women, and among the immune response genes, the inflammatory/cytotoxic effector genes interferon gamma (IFNG), lymphotoxin beta (LTB), granzyme A (GZMA), interleukin-12 receptor beta2 (IL12RB2), and granulysin (GNLY) were among those overexpressed to the greatest degree. In contrast, IL17A was the only effector gene more highly expressed in men. Estrogen response elements were identified in the promoters of half of the overexpressed immune genes in women, and in <10% of the male biased genes. The differential expression of inflammatory/cytotoxic effector molecules in restimulated female T cells may contribute to the differences in autoimmune diseases between women and men
Characterization of Aptamer-Protein Complexes by X-ray Crystallography and Alternative Approaches
No full textAptamers are oligonucleotide ligands, either RNA or ssDNA, selected for high-affinity binding to molecular targets, such as small organic molecules, proteins or whole microorganisms. While reports of new aptamers are numerous, characterization of their specific interaction is often restricted to the affinity of binding (KD). Over the years, crystal structures of aptamer-protein complexes have only scarcely become available. Here we describe some relevant technical issues about the process of crystallizing aptamer-protein complexes and highlight some biochemical details on the molecular basis of selected aptamer-protein interactions. In addition, alternative experimental and computational approaches are discussed to study aptamer-protein interactions.
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