Distribution of mast cells in the mucous membrane of the human nasopharynx

Zusammenfassung Die Mastzellen sind in der Schleimhaut des Naso-Pharynx-Gebiets ubiquitär, und ihre Zahl ist in den seitlichen Wänden erhöht. Es gibt aber keine Verteilungsunterschiede in den vier untersuchten Rassengruppen.     

Melanopsin cells are the principal conduits for rod-cone input to non-image-forming vision

Rod and cone photoreceptors detect light and relay this information through a multisynaptic pathway to the brain by means of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). These retinal outputs support not only pattern vision but also non-image-forming (NIF) functions, which include circadian photoentrainment and pupillary light reflex (PLR). In mammals, NIF functions are mediated by rods, cones and the melanopsin-containing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Rod-cone photoreceptors and ipRGCs are complementary in signalling light intensity for NIF functions. The ipRGCs, in addition to being directly photosensitive, also receive synaptic input from rod-cone networks. To determine how the ipRGCs relay rod-cone light information for both image-forming and non-image-forming functions, we genetically ablated ipRGCs in mice. Here we show that animals lacking ipRGCs retain pattern vision but have deficits in both PLR and circadian photoentrainment that are more extensive than those observed in melanopsin knockouts. The defects in PLR and photoentrainment resemble those observed in animals that lack phototransduction in all three photoreceptor classes. These results indicate that light signals for irradiance detection are dissociated from pattern vision at the retinal ganglion cell level, and animals that cannot detect light for NIF functions are still capable of image formation.     

IgH class switching and translocations use a robust non-classical end-joining pathway

Immunoglobulin variable region exons are assembled in developing B cells by V(D)J recombination. Once mature, these cells undergo class-switch recombination (CSR) when activated by antigen. CSR changes the heavy chain constant region exons (Ch) expressed with a given variable region exon from Cmu to a downstream Ch (for example, Cgamma, Cepsilon or Calpha), thereby switching expression from IgM to IgG, IgE or IgA. Both V(D)J recombination and CSR involve the introduction of DNA double-strand breaks and their repair by means of end joining. For CSR, double-strand breaks are introduced into switch regions that flank Cmu and a downstream Ch, followed by fusion of the broken switch regions. In mammalian cells, the 'classical' non-homologous end joining (C-NHEJ) pathway repairs both general DNA double-strand breaks and programmed double-strand breaks generated by V(D)J recombination. C-NHEJ, as observed during V(D)J recombination, joins ends that lack homology to form 'direct' joins, and also joins ends with several base-pair homologies to form microhomology joins. CSR joins also display direct and microhomology joins, and CSR has been suggested to use C-NHEJ. Xrcc4 and DNA ligase IV (Lig4), which cooperatively catalyse the ligation step of C-NHEJ, are the most specific C-NHEJ factors; they are absolutely required for V(D)J recombination and have no known functions other than C-NHEJ. Here we assess whether C-NHEJ is also critical for CSR by assaying CSR in Xrcc4- or Lig4-deficient mouse B cells. C-NHEJ indeed catalyses CSR joins, because C-NHEJ-deficient B cells had decreased CSR and substantial levels of IgH locus (immunoglobulin heavy chain, encoded by Igh) chromosomal breaks. However, an alternative end-joining pathway, which is markedly biased towards microhomology joins, supports CSR at unexpectedly robust levels in C-NHEJ-deficient B cells. In the absence of C-NHEJ, this alternative end-joining pathway also frequently joins Igh locus breaks to other chromosomes to generate translocations.     

Visualizing pair formation on the atomic scale in the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Pairing of electrons in conventional superconductors occurs at the superconducting transition temperature T(c), creating an energy gap Delta in the electronic density of states (DOS). In the high-T(c) superconductors, a partial gap in the DOS exists for a range of temperatures above T(c) (ref. 2). A key question is whether the gap in the DOS above T(c) is associated with pairing, and what determines the temperature at which incoherent pairs form. Here we report the first spatially resolved measurements of gap formation in a high-T(c) superconductor, measured on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta samples with different T(c) values (hole concentration of 0.12 to 0.22) using scanning tunnelling microscopy. Over a wide range of doping from 0.16 to 0.22 we find that pairing gaps nucleate in nanoscale regions above T(c). These regions proliferate as the temperature is lowered, resulting in a spatial distribution of gap sizes in the superconducting state. Despite the inhomogeneity, we find that every pairing gap develops locally at a temperature T(p), following the relation 2Delta/k(B)T(p) = 7.9 +/- 0.5. At very low doping (< or =0.14), systematic changes in the DOS indicate the presence of another phenomenon, which is unrelated and perhaps competes with electron pairing. Our observation of nanometre-sized pairing regions provides the missing microscopic basis for understanding recent reports of fluctuating superconducting response above T(c) in hole-doped high-T(c) copper oxide superconductors.     

Influence of catalyst on structural and morphological properties of TiO2 nanostructured films prepared by sol–gel on glass

Transparent TiO2 thin films have been prepared by the sol-gel method using titanium alkoxides as precursors.Thin films were deposited on glass supports by the dip-coating technique.The TiO2 layer acts as a self-cleaning coating generated from its photocatalysis and photoinduced superhydrophilicity.The crystalline structure of TiO2 films was dominantly identified as the anatase phase,consisted of uniform spherical particles of about 14-50 nm in size,which strongly depends upon catalyst-type and heat treatment temperature.Increasing heat treating temperature can lead to an increase in crystalline size.The results indicated that the sample S.S(sample derived from sol containing sulfuric acid as catalyst) exhibits superhydrophilic nature and better photocatalytic activity,which can be attributed to its higher anatase content and lower crystalline size.Morphological studies,carried out using Atomic Force Microscopy(AFM),confirm the presence of crystalline phase with such a grain size and low surface roughness.Thus,the applied films exhibiting high photocatalytic activity,superhydrophilic behavior,and low surface roughness can be used as an efficient self-cleaning coating on glass and other optical applications.     

Phase analysis of AlFe2B2 by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, magnetic and Mössbauer studies

The structural and magnetic properties of essentially phase pure AlFe_2B_2 prepared by arc melting were compared with a sample containing impurities. Analysis was carried out by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction, magnetic measurements and M?ssbauer spectroscopy. The analysis of synchrotron X-ray diffraction data confirmed the orthorhombic structure of space group Cmmm for AlFe_2B_2 with Al_(13)Fe_4 as main impurity phase. The magnetic measurements revealed an unsaturated ferromagnetic state in AlFe_2B_2 with a transition temperature(T_c) of 286 K. Isothermal magnetization measurment at 5 K gave a saturation magnetization of 0.7 μB per Fe atom while Arrott plots establish the second order nature of ferromagnetic transition. The thermal evolution of M?ssbauer spectra confirmed the ferromagnetic nature of this material revealing an hyperfine field of 73 kOe and an isomer shift of 0.46 mm/s at 100 K. The M?ssbauer spectra of a phase pure sample was compared with the one containing impurity phases. It is suggested that the low temperature paramagnetic contribution in M?ssbauer spectra of phase pure material may have its origin in some intrinsic phenomena arising from defects or inhomogeneities in crystal structure.     

Infield superconducting properties of nano-sized Ag added Cu_(0.5)Tl_(0.5)Ba_2Ca_2Cu_3O_(10-δ)

Infield superconducting properties of {(Ag)_x/CUTl-1223};(x = 0, 0.5,1.0.2.0 and 4.0 wt %) nanoparticlessuperconductor composites were investigated under different applied magnetic field up to H = 8 T. The increase in critical temperature {T_c(0)} and decrease in normal state resistivity(p_o) were observed with increasing contents of Ag nanoparticles in CuTl-1223 superconducting matrix. The value of T_c~(onset)(K) remained almost unaffected by applying external magnetic field, but a decreasing trend in T_c(0) was observed by increasing the value of external applied magnetic field. The transition region below T_c~(onset)(K) showed Arrhenius behavior due to thermally activated flow of magnetic vortices. Enhancement in flux flow activation energy(U_o) and suppression in transition width(ΔT) of CuTl-1223 phase with addition of Ag nanoparticles showed the improvement in flux pinning strength of superconductor.     

Evaluation and modification of inclusion characteristics in HK40 heatresistant cast steel

Specifications of inclusions such as the type, morphology, number, composition, size, and place of inclusions in HK40 heat-resistant casting steel were studied by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy-dispersive spectroscopy system. The effects of calcium silicide (CaSi) addition on these characteristics were evaluated at two pouring temperatures of 1420℃ and 1470℃. It was found that most of the appeared inclusions were in the type of chromium oxide. CaSi addition had a significant effect on the morphological modification, size and distribution of inclusions as well as changing the composition to oxide-sulfide compounds.     

Genetic diversity of rhizobial populations recovered from three Lotus species cultivated in the infra-arid Tunisian soils

Eighty-three bacterial strains isolated from root nodules of Lotus creticus, L. pusillus, and L. arabicus grown in infra-arid Tunisian soils were characterized using a polyphasic approach including phenotypic analysis, rep-PCR and PCR-RFLP analyses of the 16S rRNA gene. Phenotypically, all isolates are fast growers the majority of which grow at a pH of between 5.5 and 9. Most of the tested isolates tolerate NaCl concentrations from 1.39% to 3.48%. By rep-PCR fingerprinting, the genomic similarity varied from 30% to 98%. All tested isolates were clustered into 32 rep-PCR clusters at the similarity level of 80%. The genomic divergence of strains revealed by rep/PCR analysis appeared to be very important since a molecular polymorphism delimiting symbionts for each species of Lotus was identified. With the high-resolution of rep-PCR profiles of the isolates obtained using Pearson’s/UPGMA analysis, the isolates were resolved into 60 different profiling groups to undergo 16S ARDRA analyses. The analysis of all restriction fragments from each strain based on the UPGMA algorithm from the combined patterns showed that Lotus isolates are very diverse and that they were affiliated to Sinorhizobium, Rhizobium, and Mesorhizobium genera.     

3,4-二氢吡咯[2,1-c][1,4](噁)嗪-1-酮及其7-芳酰基衍生物的设计与合成

以2-吡咯基三氯乙酮为主要原料,经过乙二醇单酯化、羟基氯取代、环合三步反应制得了3,4-二氢吡咯[2,1-c][1,4](噁)嗪-1-酮;又经过Friedel-Crafts酰基化和环合反应制得了未见文献报道的7-芳酰基-3,4-二氢吡咯[2,1-c][1,4](噁)嗪-1-酮.它们及其某些重要中间体的结构分别采用红外光谱、质谱、核磁共振氢谱、核磁共振碳谱以及高分辨率质谱进行了表征.