External and internal calibration of the MHC class I-specific receptor Ly49A on murine natural killer cells

Expression of the H-2Dd-specific inhibitory receptor Ly49A on murine NK cells is subject to MHC class I-dependent modulation in vivo. As a result, NK cells in H-2Dd-transgenic mice express low cell surface levels of Ly49A, whereas NK cells from nontransgenic C57BL/6 (B6) mice express high levels. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of MHC class I molecules on the NK cell itself vs those on surrounding cells in this calibration and to test whether the Ly49A levels are subject to regulation in mature NK cells also. Analysis of transgenic mice with mosaic expression of an H-2Dd/Ld transgene showed that MHC class I molecules on surrounding cells (external ligands) and on the NK cell itself (internal ligands) played distinct roles in the determination of Ly49A levels. External ligands were involved in down-regulation of Ly49A levels in vivo, whereas internal ligands kept the down-regulated levels of Ly49A low upon NK cell activation in vitro. Furthermore, in an experimental system based on adoptive transfer of spleen cells, receptor down-regulation of Ly49A occurred as a rapid adaptation process in mature NK cells after interaction with the H-2Dd ligand in vivo. This suggests that Ly49 levels are not fixed but can be changed in mature NK cells when they are exposed to a changed MHC class I environment.     

Hereditary macular dystrophies

BACKGROUND: Orthostatic hypotension is a common phenomenon in the elderly. Hormonal changes during orthostatic stress have been described in elderly normotensive people and in those with essential hypertension. However, the hormonal response in elderly people who have systolic hypertension during orthostasis has not yet been quantified. METHODS: In this study we investigated 14 non-diabetic men, aged 60 to 75 years, with untreated systolic hypertension who were subjected to 45 degrees passive head-up incline on a tilt table for 15 min. Their hormonal profile and hemodynamic changes were analyzed before and after the stress. RESULTS: In the supine position, plasma levels of norepinephrine, atrial natriuretic peptide and aldosterone were in the normal range, while the plasma renin activity was low. Immediately upon tilt the systolic blood pressure fell but it reverted to baseline values after 15 min of orthostasis. At that time the cardiac output decreased while the systemic vascular resistance and the plasma norepinephrine concentration rose. The atrial natriuretic peptide appeared to fall, and the renin-aldosterone level did not change. CONCLUSION: The physiologic response to orthostatic stress in elderly people with systolic hypertension is comparable to that of elderly normotensive people and those with essential hypertension, i.e. a decrease in cardiac output and an increase in plasma norepinephrine levels. The atrial natriuretic peptide appeared to fall appropriately. The response of the renin-aldosterone system mimicked that in elderly patients with low renin essential isolated hypertension. These observations may have a bearing on the management of elderly people with systolic hypertension who also have orthostatic symptoms; they may not require a different approach from that needed for others of the same age group.     

High-speed milling of titanium alloys using binderless CBN tools

The performance of conventional tools is poor when used to machine titanium alloys. In this paper, a new tool material, which is binderless cubic boron nitride (BCBN), is used for high-speed milling of a widely used titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V. The performance and the wear mechanism of the BCBN tool have been investigated when slot milling the titanium alloy in terms of cutting forces, tool life and wear mechanism. This type of tool manifests longer tool life at high cutting speeds. Observations based on the SEM and EDX suggest that adhesion of workpiece and attrition are the main wear mechanisms of the BCBN tool when used in high-speed milling of Ti–6Al–4V.     

Fluor SOx净化工艺--为俄罗斯绿色环境开发的将SO2转化为元素硫的经济技术

Fluor公司开发的Fluor SO_2净化工艺具有广泛多样的工艺布局,可以通过经济的方式定制脱除烟气中的有害组成。该工艺几乎能去除全部SO_2并减少CO排放。Fluor SO_x净化工艺的主要步骤已在多套工业装置中得到成功的证实。除技术可行、经济合理之外,Fluor SO_x净化工艺不会产生任何有害副产物,也不会遇到与SO_3 有关的腐蚀问题。此外,该工艺生产高纯度可市售的元素硫。论述了Fluor SO_x净化工艺的特征、技术和成本优势、设计和操作的简易性以及实施的便利性。     

Diterpene resin acids: Major active principles in tall oil against Variegated cutworm,Peridroma saucia (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Tall oil, a by-product of the kraft process for pulping softwood, has been shown to have insecticidal properties. In the present study, the active principles in tall oil against the variegated cutworm,Peridroma saucia Hübner, were investigated. GC-MS analysis showed that abietic, dehydroabietic, and isopimaric acids were major resin acid components of crude tall oil and depitched tall oil. When crude tall oil samples of differing resin acid composition were incorporated into artificial diet at a concentration of 2.0% fresh weight, they suppressed larval growth by 45–60% compared to controls. This suppression was significantly (P0.05) correlated with the equivalent contents of abietic, dehydroabietic, isopimaric, and total resin acids. These results were also evident from a diet choice test, showing that the second-instar larvae obviously selected diets with low levels of resin acids when different diets were randomly arranged in a Petri dish. Bioassays with pure resin acids (abietic, dehydroabietic, and isopimaric acids) demonstrated that all individual chemicals have similar bioactivity against this insect. Comparison of the bioactivities of depitched tall oil and an equivalent mixture of pure resin acids in thePeridroma chronic growth bioassay indicated that pure resin acids and depitched tall oil share a common mode of action to this insect. This study confirms that resin acids are major active principles in tall oil against the variegated cutworm, but other chemicals likely also contribute to the bioactivity of tall oil.     

Sex attractants for Geometrid and Noctuid moths

Male moths belonging to 17 species of Geometridae and nine species of Noctuidae were captured in traps baited with synthetic chemicals as part of a field screening program. The compounds tested were the C₁₈-C₂₂ homologs of: (1) (3Z,6Z,9Z)-triene hydrocarbons; (2) mixtures containing equal quantities of (3Z,6Z)-cis-9,10-expoxydienes, (3Z,92Z)-cis-6,7-epoxydienes, and (6Z,9Z)-cis-3,4-epoxydienes; (3) (3Z,6Z)-9S,10R-epoxydienes; (4) (3Z,6Z)-9R,10S-epoxydienes; and (5) (3Z,6Z,9Z,11E)-nonadecatetraene. Field captures and electroantennographic assays revealed a high degree of specificity in the responses of many species to the synthetic chemicals. In several species the ability of males to discriminate between the 9S,10R and 9R,10S enantiomers of the monoepoxydiene isomers was clearly shown. Synergists and inhibitors were discovered for several of the reported attractants, some of which were not previously known to have semiochemical activity. The geometrid moths captured includedEpirrhoe sperryi (Herbulot),Mesoleuca ruficillata (Guenée),Triphosa haesitata (Guenée),Metanema inatomaria (Guenée),Prochoerodes transversata (Drury),Cabera erythemaria (Guenée),Synaxis jubararia (Hulst),Dysstroma brunneata ethela (Hulst),Eulithes testata (Linnaeus),Sicya macularia (Harris),Xanthorhoe iduata (Guenée),X. abrasaria aquilonaria (Herrich-Schäffer),X. munitata (Hübner),Itame loricaria (Eversmann),Eupithecia annulata (Hulst),E. rovocastaliata (Packard) andE. satyrata dodata (Taylor). The noctuid moths captured includedBleptina caradrinalis (Guenée),Idia américalis (Guenée),I. aemula (Hübner),Rivula propinqualis (Guenée),Lomanaltes eductalis (Walker),Spargaloma sexpunctata (Grote),Caenurgina distincta (Neumuller),Euclidia cuspidea (Hübner), andZale duplicata (Bethune). Six of the nine noctuid species captured belong to three subfamilies for which sex attractants had not been reported previously. Details for the stereospecific synthesis of (3Z,6Z)-cis-9,10-epoxydienes are also reported.Issued as NRCC No. 24314.     

Evaluating Social Navigation Visualization in Online Geographic Maps

Social navigation enables emergent collaboration between independent collaborators by exposing the behavior of each individual. This is a powerful idea for web-based visualization, where the work of one user can inform other users interacting with the same visualization. Results from a crowdsourced user study evaluating the value of such social navigation cues for a geographic map service are presented. Results show significantly improved performance for participants who interacted with the map when the visual footprints of previous users were visible.     

Perceptual image preview

Image preview is a convenient way to browse large or multiple images on small displays. However, current signal-level image resampling algorithms may remove many features of interest in the preview image. In this paper, we propose perceptual image preview which retains more perceptual features such that users can inspect features of interest by viewing the preview image only and without zooming in. This technology has two components, structure enhancement and perceptual feature visualization. Structure enhancement enhances the image structure while suppressing subtle details using a gradient modulation method, thus making the succedent perceptual features more apparent. For perceptual feature visualization, features of interest detected in the picture is visualized on the structure enhanced preview image. We demonstrate with two examples of most commonly used image quality features, image blur and noise. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by experimental results.     

Space-variant optical logic operations based on operation-dependent encoding method

We propose performing space-variant optical logic operations in a space-invariant optical system by selectively assigning encoding states that are operation dependent. With this method, encoders using liquid-crystal cells and liquid-crystal light valves to perform space-variant encoding for all 16 Boolean functions are designed. Multiple-instruction-multiple-data processing can then be realized in optical logic systems.