The CD40-CD154 system in anti-infective host defense

Research in the past few years has documented significant advances in our understanding of the CD40-CD40 ligand (CD154) system in diverse immune functions. This system influences many T cell mediated inflammatory immune responses and effector functions, unmasking a previously unexpected role for CD40-CD154 in cell mediated immunity. Manipulation of CD154 in animal models of infection by the use of CD154-deficient mice or anti-CD154 antibodies has shown the importance of this system in the initiation of the inflammatory response, in the activation of antigen-presenting cells and in resistance to infections.     

Can cities become self-reliant in food?

Modern cities almost exclusively rely on the import of resources to meet their daily basic needs. Food and other essential materials and goods are transported from long-distances, often across continents, which results in the emission of harmful greenhouse gasses. As more people now live in cities than rural areas and all future population growth is expected to occur in cities, the potential for local self-reliance in food for a typical post-industrial North American city was determined. Given current policies and bylaws and available area, crop yields, and human intake, three distinct scenarios were developed to determine the potential level of food self-reliance for the City of Cleveland, which has been plagued with home foreclosures and resulting vacant land, lack of access to healthy food, hunger, and obesity particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Scenario I, which utilizes 80% of every vacant lot, can generate between 22% and 48% of Cleveland’s demand for fresh produce (vegetables and fruits) depending on the vegetable production practice used (conventional gardening, intensive gardening, or hydroponics), 25% of both poultry and shell eggs, and 100% of honey. Scenario II, which uses 80% of every vacant lot and 9% of every occupied residential lot, can generate between 31% and 68% of the needed fresh produce, 94% of both poultry and shell eggs, and 100% of honey. Finally, scenario III, which adds 62% of every industrial and commercial rooftop in addition to the land area used in scenario II, can meet between 46% and 100% of Cleveland’s fresh produce need, and 94% of poultry and shell eggs and 100% of honey. The three scenarios can attain overall levels of self-reliance between 4.2% and 17.7% by weight and 1.8% and 7.3% by expenditure in total food and beverage consumption, compared to the current level of 0.1% self-reliance in total food and beverage by expenditure. The analysis also reveals that the enhanced food self-reliance would result in $29 M to $115 M being retained in Cleveland annually depending upon the scenario employed. This study provides support to the hypothesis that significant levels of local self-reliance in food, the most basic need, is possible in post-industrial North American cities. It is concluded that while high levels of local self-reliance would require an active role of city governments and planners, public commitment, financial investment, and labor, the benefits to human health, the local and global environment, and the local economy and community may outweigh the cost.     

Biochemical factors responsible for susceptibility or resistance of various plants against the scarlet mite,brevipalpus phoenicis: i. amino acids analysis

Free amino acids show considerable variations among various species of plants that exhibit different degrees of susceptibility or resistance to various pests infestation. Some of the free amino acids, directly or indirectly, contribute to defense mechanism of the plants. Recently, 31 plant species were screened for susceptibility or resistance against the attack of the scarlet mite, Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geij.). Thin layer chromatography showed that all resistant species contain tryptophan, tyrosine and hydroxyproline, while all susceptible hosts had amino acids like α‐aminocaprylic acid and dihydroxyphenylalanine. The plants species lacking dihydroxyphenylalanine could not support the development of the scarlet mite.     

Identifying Erosion Mechanism: A Novel Approach

Understanding the erosion mechanism is a key to improve the performance of material subjected to erosive condition. Capability to predict the erosion mechanism could prove to be useful tool. In this work, a parameter named “erosion mechanism identifier,” ξ, is proposed to predict the erosion mechanism in materials. Suitability of ξ in predicting erosion mechanism of ductile and brittle materials was evaluated using the data reported in the literature. It was observed that ξ is able to predict the erosion mechanism for both categories of material. The predictability of ξ was not restrained by different operating conditions.     

Slurry Erosion Mechanism of Hydroturbine Steel: Effect of Operating Parameters

Performance of hydropower plant is severely affected by the presence of sand particles in river water. Degree of degradation significantly depends on the level of operating parameters (velocity, impingement angle, concentration, particle size and shape), which is further related to erosion mechanism. In this investigation, the effect of some of these operating parameters on erosion mechanism of generally used hydroturbine steel, CA6NM (13Cr4Ni), is reported. Morphology and variation in the martensite and austenite phases of the eroded surfaces were investigated using SEM and XRD. It was observed that velocity and impingement angle affect the erosion mechanism of CA6NM steel. Erosion mechanism was also significantly affected by the radial distance from the impact zone. Primary mechanism responsible for the removal of material at normal impingement angle was the formation and removal of platelets. At acute impingement angle, ploughing was observed to be one of the prime mechanisms responsible for the loss of the material. Other than these two well-known erosion mechanisms, the presence of another two erosion mechanisms was also observed. Models have been proposed for these unfamiliar erosion mechanisms. Interaction amongst different operating parameters was studied using line and contour plots. It was observed that the interaction between velocity and concentration was most significant. Using the experimental results, a statistical model based on regression approach was developed. Validity of this statistical model was checked using the experimental results from the literature and present study.