Efficient immune responses in mice lacking N-region diversity

Mice with a null mutation in the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) gene harbor immunoglobulin and T cell receptor repertoires essentially devoid of N-region diversity. Consequently, the CDR3 loops important for antigen recognition are shorter and considerably less diverse than those of wild-type controls. We find surprisingly normal immune responses in TdT0 mice, as regards both efficiency and specificity. This provokes a reconsideration of the assumption that N-region diversity is required for an effective T and B cell repertoire.     

A new technology for preparation of saturating powder mixtures for diffusion galvanizing

The powder mixtures used for diffusion galvanizing (Zn + inert filler + activator) have the following deficiencies: susceptibility to sintering and fusing under elevated CTT temperatures, complexity of correcting the set of components in repeated use of the mixtures and the related instability of the results obtained, complexity of regeneration of worked-out mixtures, elevated ecological hazard of their use, etc. This explains the need for the present work, which shows that most of the mentioned deficiencies can be eliminated by an appropriate choice of the mixture components and (or) preliminary treatment of them.     

Modulation of drug-induced sensitization processes by endogenous opioid systems

Behavioural sensitization involves progressive increases in behavioural responses to repeated intermittent administration of drugs of abuse. Behavioural sensitization is observed to the locomotor stimulant, rewarding and discriminative effects of a drug. These are effects which seem to be essential in the initiation, expression and maintenance of a drug-seeking behaviour. Therefore the phenomenon of behavioural sensitization may have important implications for the understanding of addictive processes. Findings given in this review demonstrate the involvement of endogenous opioid systems in the initiation of sensitized responses on the neurochemical level, i.e., within the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, as well as on the behavioural level. Specifically, it is shown that behavioural sensitization to morphine and cocaine is modulated by endogenous kappa-opioid systems.     

Making broadband-ISDN successful

It is argued that the technology needed to support the emerging broadband integrated services digital network technology (B-ISDN) is on the horizon, but the deployment of this technology in the telecommunication plant will not be sufficient to make B-ISDN a commercial success. Two corequisites for ensuring the long-term success of the emerging B-ISDN include stimulating the demand for bandwidth by inventing and promoting new telecommunication applications, and enabling the interconnection or convergence of the emerging high-speed network and the existing cable television infrastructure. The author believes that this is necessary because no alternative seems to offer a workable base for financing the transition to B-ISDN and for reaching the needed economy of scale, and because the intrinsic value of the public network grows combinatorially with the number of subscribers     

Block access estimation for clustered data using a finite LRUbuffer

Data access cost evaluation is fundamental in the design and management of database systems. When some data items have duplicates, a clustering effect that can heavily influence access costs is observed. The availability of a finite amount of buffer memory in real systems has an even more dramatic impact. A comprehensive cost model for clustered data retrieval by an index using a finite buffer is presented. The approach combines and extends previous models based either on finite buffer or on uniform data clustering assumptions. The computational costs of the formulas proposed are independent of the data size or of the query cardinality and need only a single statistics per search key, the clustering factor, to be maintained by the system. The predictive power and the accuracy of the model are shown in comparison with actual costs resulting from simulations     

The effect of prior austenite grain size on the transformation behaviour of C-Mn-Ni weld metal

The influence of prior austenite grain size on the transformation behaviour and microstructural development of C-Mn-Ni weld metals was investigated. It was found that increasing the grain size depressed the start temperature of grain-boundary ferrite and slightly increased the acicular ferrite start temperature. The microstructural products also changed from a boundary-dominated effect in the small grain sizes, to an intragranular-dominated effect in the large grain sizes, and at the same time, the morphology of the acicular ferrite was seen to change to a larger aspect ratio.     

Job demands and worker health: Three-dimensional reexamination of the relationship between person€nvironment fit and strain.

The most influential study of the person–environment (P–E) fit approach to stress was conducted by J. R. French et al (1982). Unfortunately, this study operationalized fit using various transformations of difference scores, thereby introducing numerous substantive and methodological problems. In the present study, the authors reanalyze data from French et al, using a procedure described by J. R. Edwards (in press) that avoids problems with difference scores and captures the underlying 3-dimensional relationship between environment, person, and strain. Results resolve ambiguities in the French et al findings and identify relationships between environment, person, and strain that, although consistent with P–E fit theory, cannot be adequately represented by fit measures such as those used by French et al. Implications for P–E fit research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)