The T cell-directed CC chemokine TARC is a highly specific biological ligand for CC chemokine receptor 4

Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) is a recently identified CC chemokine that is expressed constitutively in thymus and transiently in stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. TARC functions as a selective chemoattractant for T cells that express a class of receptors binding TARC with high affinity and specificity. To identify the receptor for TARC, we produced TARC as a fusion protein with secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) and used it for specific binding. By stably transfecting five orphan receptors and five known CC chemokine receptors (CCR1 to -5) into K562 cells, we found that TARC-SEAP bound selectively to cells expressing CCR4. TARC-SEAP also bound to K562 cells stably expressing CCR4 with a high affinity (Kd = 0.5 nM). Only TARC and not five other CC chemokines (MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1), RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cells expressed and secreted), MIP-1alpha (macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha), MIP-1beta, and LARC (liver and activation-regulated chemokine)) competed with TARC-SEAP for binding to CCR4. TARC but not RANTES or MIP-1alpha induced migration and calcium mobilization in 293/EBNA-1 cells stably expressing CCR4. K562 cells stably expressing CCR4 also responded to TARC in a calcium mobilization assay. Northern blot analysis revealed that CCR4 mRNA was expressed strongly in human T cell lines and peripheral blood T cells but not in B cells, natural killer cells, monocytes, or granulocytes. Taken together, TARC is a specific functional ligand for CCR4, and CCR4 is the specific receptor for TARC selectively expressed on T cells.     

Substance use as a robust correlate of school outcome measures for ethnically diverse adolescents of Asian/Pacific Islander ancestry.

School psychologists are generally not provided with the knowledge and skills to address both educational and psychosocial issues of Asian American and Pacific Islander students. The present study is the first of its kind in examining 36 independent (i.e., demographic, social, cultural, psychological) variables in association with four school outcomes (i.e., grade point average, absences, suspensions, and school infractions) with a large sample of Caucasian, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, Japanese, mixed/non-Hawaiian, and "other" Hawai'i high school students (N = 2,833). Given the relatively unique sample in question and the sheer number of variables, an exploratory approach was utilized with the goal of determining the most robust independent variables, with the unique inclusion of Hawaiian cultural identification. A cross-validation technique was used, whereby stepwise regressions were performed for each of two cross-validation samples; only common variables were retained in a final stepwise model for each of the four school outcomes. The results indicated that, remarkably, substance use accounted for the most variance (i.e., 8.4% -16.1 %) in the four school measures. Further analyses detailed the relationship, including the finding that smoking cigarettes regularly, accounted for the most variance compared to the other five substance use items. Further research and implications of the findings are discussed, including the need for prevention and intervention programs that incorporate substance use as a component, both within and outside of school environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrotunable Non‐reciprocal Laser Emission from a Liquid‐Crystal Photonic Device

A liquid crystal (LC) photonic device with an anisotropic optical heterojunction structure has been fabricated. The device has a phase‐retarding nematic LC (NLC) layer sandwiched between two polymer cholesteric LC films with right‐handed helices of different pitches. Electrotunable non‐reciprocal light transmittance and unidirectional circularly polarized (CP) lasing emission have been successfully demonstrated for this device structure. Two left CP (LCP) lasing emission peaks are observed at the edges of the overlapping region between the two photonic bands in the structure and are shifted upon the application of a voltage. In contrast, a non‐reciprocal right CP (RCP) lasing emission peak emerges at one of the band edges and diminishes upon the application of a voltage. These phenomena are interpreted based on the selective reflection of RCP light and the reorientation of the NLC molecules by the application of a voltage.     

Design of electrofusion joints and evaluation of fusion strength using fusion simulation technology

Fusion simulation is one of the key techniques in designing and producing electrofusion (EF) joints for gas distribution and in evaluating fusion joint integrity. This paper describes the result of a numerical simulation of a thermal fusion process, using the finite element method. A nonlinear heat transfer computer program was used to obtain the temperature profile of a large electrofusion joint at fusion. The effects of applied voltage, heating time, wire pitch, and ambient temperature were examined for designing a 150-mm EF joint. A method to shorten the cooling time was also investigated. The fusion condition range suitable for a 150-mm EF joint was found to be slightly narrower than that suitable for a 50-mm EF joint. Examination of the effect of wire pitch revealed that if the pitch is extremely large, thermal degradation starts in the resin close to the wire before the fusion-interface strength reaches the maximum value. We have developed a program to simulate the process of closing the gap between the pipe and the joint due to resin expansion and melting after the power is supplied.     

New field measurement system for single-mode fibre dispersion utilising wavelength division multiplexing technique

A new system designed to measure the chromatic dispersion of installed single-mode fibres is presented. This system utilises the modulation phase technique but eliminates the reference laser and fibre. A large dynamic range was demonstrated by the measurement of an 81.1 km length of fibre.     

New low-noise output amplifier for high-definition CCD image sensor

A new low-noise charge-coupled-device (CCD) output amplifier, the RJG detector, has been developed. The RJG detector incorporates a JFET which has an electrically floating ring-junction gate (RJG). The operating principle of the amplifier is that signal charges, transferred from the CCD into the RJG, directly modulate the drain current in the detection JFET. The performance of the detector was evaluated by operating test devices under a 37-MHz clock frequency, which is the same frequency as that for the horizontal CCD operation in the recently developed 2-million-pixel high-definition CCD image sensor. It was found that 1/f noise was reduced by introducing the JFET and that reset noise was completely eliminated by achieving complete charge transfer through the reset operation. As a result, input referred noise equivalent electrons within the 18.5-MHz baseband were reduced to 17 (electrons)     

Solving #SAT using vertex covers

We propose an exact algorithm for counting the models of propositional formulas in conjunctive normal form. Our algorithm is based on the detection of strong backdoor sets of bounded size; each instantiation of the variables of a strong backdoor set puts the given formula into a class of formulas for which models can be counted in polynomial time. For the backdoor set detection we utilize an efficient vertex cover algorithm applied to a certain “obstruction graph” that we associate with the given formula. This approach gives rise to a new hardness index for formulas, the clustering-width. Our algorithm runs in uniform polynomial time on formulas with bounded clustering-width. It is known that the number of models of formulas with bounded clique-width, bounded treewidth, or bounded branchwidth can be computed in polynomial time; these graph parameters are applied to formulas via certain (hyper)graphs associated with formulas. We show that clustering-width and the other parameters mentioned are incomparable: there are formulas with bounded clustering-width and arbitrarily large clique-width, treewidth, and branchwidth. Conversely, there are formulas with arbitrarily large clustering-width and bounded clique-width, treewidth, and branchwidth.     

Keratinocyte differentiation is induced by cell-permeant ceramides and its proliferation is promoted by sphingosine

Antibody titres against Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax were examined using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) for 183 Gidra-speaking adults and adolescents in four ecologically different villages of lowland Papua New Guinea. The findings highlight that 1) in Gidraland P. falciparum was more prevalent than P. vivax, 2) the proportion of antibody titres of 1:64 or higher markedly differed among the villages, ranging from 35.3% to 100% for males and from 31.6% to 100% for females, and 3) in the two villages with high prevalences, these were higher among males than females. The inter-village and sex differences can be largely explained by microenvironmental conditions and behavioural patterns of the population. The population-based analyses of this study intend to contribute to a better understanding of the prevalence of malaria in human-environment settings and thus to the planning of malaria prevention.